Forever at His Side
by AZ1087653
Summary: Soubi had promised to remain forever at his side and Ritsuka was starting to make the same promise back to the one who was protecting him as well.
1. Drama

Thought I'd write some slightly interconnected one-shots for this fandom since it's one of my favorites. Hope they can be enjoyed by others. Cheers!

Disclaimer – I don't own or this wouldn't be on a fanfiction website.

/GG/

Forever at His Side: Drama

Silence, save for the occasional click of a mouse or the breaths of a man inhaling cigarette smoke, had covered the room like a quilt. Such types of silence were to be welcomed and treated with respect as they were few and far between. Both of the room's occupants knew the silence wouldn't last much longer, especially with what had brought the two together. They, communally, relished the silence a little bit longer.

Once the older inhabitant snuffed out his cigarette he went into the adjoining bathroom and flushed the butt down the toilet. Then he stood in the doorway and watched the younger figure tapping on the mouse and moving through windows on his PC. From behind the boy looked fine; cat ears twitching slightly, back straight, and hair covering his neck. It was what was under the hair on his neck that worried the older man.

Quite by chance he had been on his way to the convenience store when his cell phone had gone off. He answered it and had heard just enough muffled pleas to know that the younger boy was in trouble. Forgetting about the convenience store, Soubi bolted toward Ritsuka's home. The boy refused to leave his mother, but by refusing he'd put himself in constant danger. The woman was wonky and in need of some sort of medical treatment, but after the 'death' of the boy's brother, said boy couldn't bear to put his mother away.

This lead to many nights of Soubi cleaning wounds and letting the boy just know he wasn't alone. It needed to stop; that was why the college student was there. Ritsuka was more than old enough to have the conversation Soubi wanted to have with him regarding his mother's inability to offer the protection a child of not yet thirteen needed.

"Does it hurt, Ritsuka?" The older man asked softly, not moving from his spot in the doorway.

The raven haired boy reached up and touched the bandage on his neck, the one that covered the burn from the frying pan his mother had hit him with during one of her episodes. He'd been lucky to only escape with a mild burn on his neck since his shirt had saved his shoulder and back. Chalk it up to another bandage people would wonder about, but no one would do anything about because people tended to mind their own business more than question.

"That depends on your definition of hurt." He answered thoughtfully.

"Why don't you explain?"

"I have grown immune to the pain of anything she does to me. Physically I cannot feel it anymore."

There wasn't much else to share on the matter, really, but that didn't mean it was okay to not question further.

"What about in your head, Ritsuka?" Soubi walked forward and put a hand on top of the boy's head, between the feline ears that danced at the show of affection.

"I don't like to think about that. If I think about it then it may start to hurt again." His voice was low and slightly troubled at the prospect of having to feel the pain as it had been when the abuse started. Often times it was all the boy could do to keep from breaking apart at the seams. Lucky for him he had Soubi to show him what love could be like.

"Ritsuka, look at me." Soubi's voice was stern yet kind at the same time. The kind of voice one would expect a parent to use when reprimanding his or her child in a way to teach them.

The boy nodded slowly and turned around, computer forgotten for the moment. Their eyes locked in a battle of wills. A stalemate was the only possible outcome for the following conversation and both knew it from the utterance of the first syllable.

"We are not zeros, Ritsuka. You are meant to feel pain in order to know there is something wrong with your body." Soubi deadpanned. He knew that any sugar coating of the issue would be met with distain since the pre-teen was more adult than even he at times.

Ritsuka nodded but didn't say anything; he didn't need to because he knew where the conversation was heading.

"I think it's about time we removed you from this house." Soubi stated after a deep intake of breath.

The idea of removing Ritsuka from his home was a sticky situation. He knew the boy would not agree to being removed because he valued any sort of family he could retain. The problem was that the only family who paid him enough mind anymore tended to become violent which resulted in unnecessary bruising and scars added to the collection the boy already carried with him. These painful reminders were both internal and external.

What should have happened was an intervention done in the school. More people tended to look the other way than involve themselves in the plights of children. It was the parent's responsibility and no one else wanted to step on the toes of the legal guardian of any child.

Was removing Ritsuka from his home worth the effort when the boy could end up anywhere? Soubi had made a promise to the boy's brother; he would watch out for him. If the boy was removed then could he continue to keep an eye out or would that be impossible. Neither wanted to think about that outcome, and that was why Ritsuka had remained in the house for as long as he had.

"And where would you have me go?" Ritsuka voiced the question that was on both minds.

"You could stay with me." Soubi answered.

"That will never happen, for which you already know Soubi. Besides, I spend quite a bit of time at your place already."

"Ritsuka, I won't do anything unless you want me to." The older male said as he finally stepped into the room and sat with his back to the bed and his eyes facing the boy. "All I can do is offer to take care of you when you want and do what I can to make sure you are as safe as possible. You are smart enough to know that living here is hazardous to your health."

Ritsuka choked back a scoff. "And being a fighter team isn't, I suppose."

There was no arguing that logic.

"Besides," Ritsuka continued. "You and I both know that if I were to be removed from here there's a strong possibility I might end up somewhere you can't keep an eye on me." He didn't like to bring up his brother's rules when his brother had turned out to be such a devious individual, but in this case he would have missed the older man if they were separated.

"That is true." Soubi said, voicing what he already knew. The older man sat up and placed a hand on Ritsuka's cheek and ran a thumb over a healing cut right next to the boy's lip. He leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on the cut before sitting back down on the floor.

"It's the lesser of two evils for me to stay here."

That was the end of the conversation. An unspoken agreement was made that no matter what Soubi's home would always be open to the younger boy. As Ritsuka got older and began to spend more time there it would be like he lived there anyway. Soubi had promised to remain forever at his side and Ritsuka was starting to make the same promise back to the one who was protecting him as well.


	2. Friendship

While I respect the opinions of people in this fandom who want Ritsuka and Soubi to become a yaoi couple, I rather like the friendship feel they currently have. I think there needs to be more about them being friends. Sensei did mention that the series wasn't yaoi, but maybe she will turn it into a BL, we shall see. I wouldn't be opposed to that idea.

I don't own. I just like the series; it's one of my favorites.

Cheers!

/GG/

Friendship

Dusk was beginning to descend, like a curtain being drawn over a picture window. People were scattered everywhere, running around and shouting for joy as the festivities continued. It was the perfect evening for a carnival and Ritsuka had not wanted to miss out on the opportunity to introduce Soubi to more of what life had to offer.

Far too often the fighter of the pair had been left behind when it came to the fun and excitement that came with being a child. The sacrifice of the pair had a new goal in mind; show Soubi what he had been missing out on and make memories in the process. Carnivals were one such place where magical memories could easily be created.

The elder hadn't even put up a fight when the 12-year old had insisted on attending. Frankly, he was pleased at the prospect of spending time with the boy outside of the normal fighting that forced the two together on occasion. He'd never have denied Ritsuka anyway. Whatever he could do for his cat-eared sacrifice happened, no matter what.

They walked through a balloon archway and were immediately met with a psychedelic array of color and fun. The smells and sounds had been noticed much earlier, but until they were joined by the sight it hadn't become real yet. Now the two stood on the threshold of a new adventure that was aimed at creating happiness and friendship rather than darkness.

"Ritsuka, what do you want to do first?" Soubi asked. He noticed the younger was trying to look like he wasn't in awe of the many booths lined up along the walkway.

"This isn't just for me. What do you want to do first?"

"Is that an order?" He asked simply.

Ritsuka rolled his eyes as his ears started to flatten on his head. He aimed to help the older man break free from the invisible chains of bondage that seemed to keep him tied. Orders were the first to go and while it had been difficult at first, Ritsuka had managed to wean himself off needing to order the fighter around.

"That is not an order." He replied calmly. "I have been to carnivals before; I want you to pick somewhere so I can take you."

Soubi thought for a moment as his eyes scanned the nearest booths. One was a basketball toss, another was catching fish with an obviously tripped net. A third was some sort of dart game with multicolored balloons. Dozens more, as far as the eye could see, were situated on the property, each calling out to come and give it a person's best shot. Had he been younger the magic would have been greater. Still, the fact that his Ritsuka was with him made the night that much better.

"I want to eat dried squid." He finally stated after some not so deep contemplation. Soubi only chose that option because he knew Ritsuka liked eating the stuff.

Ritsuka then began to scan his surroundings to see where a dried squid stand might be located. He saw a rice ball stand off to the side and figured that was the best place to start searching. Not even paying attention to his actions he grabbed hold of Soubi's hand and started to pull him further into the crowd of other carnival-goers.

Finding a dried squid stand proved more difficult than first planned, and all the while during the searching Soubi would urge Ritsuka to one stand or another to try one of the games. During that time the boy ended up winning a few bracelets (that he planned on giving to Yuiko), a bamboo flute (that he planned on giving to Yayoi since he would never use it), and two phone straps with butterflies dangling from a chain. He gave one to Soubi and kept one for himself, rather absent mindedly, but it thrilled Soubi nonetheless.

After finding a cotton candy stand, a stand selling fried tofu, and a little ramen shop, the dried squid stand was located. Using what little money he had, Ritsuka paid for the snack and handed it to his companion. Soubi tore the squid in half and shared with the boy since he really wasn't all that fond of squid to begin with.

A short time later, squid gone and drinks purchased and also gone, Soubi spoke up again before Ritsuka could ask where he wanted to go next. This was his way of beating the boy to the punch. Plus he liked the way Ritsuka smiled whenever he showed any sort of desire to do anything.

"I want to ride the Ferris Wheel next." He stated.

Ritsuka nodded and again grabbed Soubi's hand and pulled him toward the small wheel that circled around and around. He knew that Ferris Wheels held some sort of significance to the older man, so he was more than happy to climb onto this small wheel and have a go. The more he smiled, the more he knew that Soubi would enjoy himself.

Within moments of getting in line they were on a cart and on the way toward the top. Ritsuka looked at the other passengers and realized that most of the couples were actual couples of the romantic sort. This caused him to blush as Soubi put an arm around him and pulled the little cat boy closer. Leave it to the fighter to turn something innocent into borderline perverted.

He felt Soubi rest his chin on his own head between his cat ears and breathe a contented sigh. There was very little he could do when he was stuck on a ride, so he stopped fidgeting and enjoyed the motion the wheel gave him. To Ritsuka it felt like he was flying, even though he could firmly feel the seat beneath his posterior and below his feet. Still, he could imagine he was like a butterfly gliding above the heads of the crowd on the wheel.

Soubi had a similar thought, though he wasn't anywhere near as fond of butterflies. In fact he hated them. Not because of the reasons he had told Kio those months ago, but because of the memories his teacher had engrained into his brain. Instead of flying butterflies, he and Ritsuka were just flying, normal and in human form.

He leaned his lips to Ritsuka's head and kissed right between the cat ears, causing said feline appendages to wiggle slightly. Soubi was surprised the boy didn't admonish him for his forward actions. Maybe it was their surroundings or the feeling of peace he could feel radiating from the boy. Either way, he was just glad to be there, in that moment, with the person who had shot to the top of his list of favorite people.

Flying eventually came to an end and the pair exited the ride area and headed back down the walkway of booths and rides. Neither really wanted to do anything else, but neither wanted to go home either. Home was a lonely place for both when the other wasn't around.

Instead Soubi was led, still by hand, toward a cherry blossom tree. Ritsuka sat with his back against the trunk and motioned for the elder to sit as well. It still wasn't a command, but an offer to join. Soubi sat, making sure his shoulder was touching the younger male's.

Off in the distance they could see the fireworks shooting into the sky and firing off into various colors from the color spectrum. The boy looked up at the man and saw the colorful bursts reflecting off the elder's eyes. The sight gave off a feeling of wonder and mysticism. Had his eyes always reflected the lights so beautifully? Ritsuka would try and pay more attention to that in the future.

For the moment though all that mattered to either was that they could sit together in communal silence and watch the display without having to worry about anything in their personal lives. Instead they could live in the moment and share the joy of friendship together. Love, after all, comes in many shapes and forms and where that love leads was always going to be a journey they would walk together.


	3. HurtComfort

Hurt/Comfort

Age is no indicator on how a person will react to a dream. Sometimes a young child can have a very adult dream and end with a very adult outcome. Then there are times when even the strongest person in the world can have a nightmare or a flashback of an actual occurrence and end up crying in his or her sleep. Yes, reactions to dreams are as varied as the amount of fish in the sea.

Saturday night had been fun, to say the least. Ritsuka had agreed to stay over at Soubi's place to sleep after working on a school project with the older man. It hadn't been particularly late when the project had been completed, but neither really wanted to venture out into the rain (though if requested Soubi would have done so with a smile).

Instead of leaving, the pair had watched an English language movie with a bowl of popcorn and some soda. Ritsuka had fallen asleep while watching the movie, so Soubi had stretched the pre-teen out on the sofa, covered him with a blanket, and placed a chaste kiss on the top of the boy's head before heading to sleep himself. Nights in which the boy slept over made the decent sized apartment seem less lonely.

During a lull in the rain and thunder, Ritsuka had woken up to the sounds of soft crying. For a moment he thought maybe it had been himself; many a night he'd woken up from sleep from sobbing. It wasn't him this time, and for a moment he actually forgot where he was.

In slight confusion he sat up and placed his feet on the floorboards. That was when he remembered he'd agreed to sleep over at Soubi's rather than head home. Such an idea had been good because he could hear the slight drops of water as they fell from the branches overhead and hit the roof.

The crying was coming from Soubi's bed and the soft sounds made the boy's heart break. If a dream was causing the older man to cry it must have been extremely painful. Being who Ritsuka was, he couldn't just fall back asleep and let the other cry; it wasn't in his nature to turn away from such an act.

Softly, he padded over toward the bed and saw that Soubi was lying on his stomach, sans shirt. When the lightning flashed he could see the scars that marred the older man's once perfect skin. After being made privy to some of what had happened to Soubi all those years ago, Ritsuka had tried to get the older man to let him see the scars closer, but Soubi always shied away, telling him that it was in the past and it didn't matter anymore.

In truth, the scars scared Ritsuka because he knew that they held a pain he could never help heal in the fighter. Each one a bitter reminder of being dominated when the man was just a boy himself. If the younger could, he would have erased each scar, starting with the ones on Soubi's neck.

Absentmindedly he reached a finger out and touched one of the lines of raised flesh on Soubi's back. It was course and hard, different than the skin of the man's fingers when they touched him. Ritsuka could almost hear the whip that must have been used to cause such a blemish as it cracked down on the already tender body tissue. He had to blink back a tear that was threatening to escape.

"St…," Soubi mumbling caused Ritsuka to pull his hand back and his eyes to open wide. "op."

The word was rather unintelligible, but most certainly was the word stop. It wasn't shouted in fear, more like a moan or internal dialog being said out loud during a dream. Soubi was definitely still asleep, but something was hurting the man and by an extension, hurting the boy.

Ritsuka sat on the bed next to Soubi and wiped a tear away from the elder's porcelain cheek. He didn't want to wake the man for fear of startling him even more than he already was. So he did what he could, and lied down beside him, wrapping his thin arm around Soubi's back and placing his second hand on the other's arm.

Whether the sleeping man knew it or not, Ritsuka would never find out, but with the touch he broke down into all out sobs. All the smaller boy could do was let the man cry it out. He didn't cry along with him, though he wanted to do just that. Instead he let his skin be felt by Soubi in his sleep; hopefully the fighter's brain was processing that someone was there and he was not alone.

/GG/

Inside his dreams Soubi was reliving the harsh reality of his teenage years. The constant beatings to make him stronger. The feel of his buttocks as he was forced into a relationship he didn't want. All of it was playing with his mind and he knew that his physical form was reacting. He just couldn't wake up from the onslaught of memories, like someone had locked him in a dream-state and he was stuck there until he cried it out.

Crying for the older man made him feel weak and useless. No one had given him permission to cry, so he shouldn't have. But he knew that even while his eyes were closed, tear droplets were squeezing out of the minute slits between his eyelids. He felt trapped within himself, yet at the same time he felt as if a warm blanket had enveloped him from the outside. Even while his insides were in turmoil, he was protected and that was why he felt it okay to allow his emotions to bubble over. After all, it was just a dream anyway.

/GG/

Ritsuka didn't know if he would ever be able to tell Soubi of the things he had witnessed when the two spoke the next time. In that moment, when he was comforting the older man, all he could think about was how he wished he were in the dream with him to help the man heal from the inside. A wall had been built up around Soubi that was not penetrable by any means, especially by someone like him. All he could do was be there and offer his support; much like Soubi did for him on occasion.

Nothing else would be accomplished that night, so Ritsuka leaned in and kissed Soubi's tears away and then closed his eyes. If he were to fall asleep, at least Soubi wouldn't be sleeping alone. That thought made him feel happy and content, for if the older man wasn't sleeping alone while in pain, then neither was Ritsuka.

/GG/

Five Hours Later (Eight AM)

"What would you like for breakfast, Ritsuka?" Soubi asked his young sacrifice as he rummaged through the cabinets.

"Let's make pancakes." Ritsuka said warily.

The young boy wasn't wary about the food, quite the contrary; he loved Soubi's pancakes even if the older man gave the pancakes little cat-shaped ears. He was wary of how Soubi had reacted when he woke up to find him asleep on the futon with him. Normally the older man would have been thrilled and pulled Ritsuka closer until the wiggling boy got free from his grasp. Instead, he had just opened his eyes and stared at the sacrifice until Ritsuka woke up and was able to get out of bed without any commotion.

Had Soubi been aware he had been crying in his sleep? If he was he was doing an awfully good job of pretending it hadn't happened. Then again, maybe he was ignoring the issue like he always did when it came to his past. Ritsuka wouldn't pry though, nor would he order. The boy had patience and he would wait it out, until the other was willing to share all the details.

Soubi did know that the boy had heard him cry, but he wouldn't admit to it at the moment. Not that he wasn't deeply moved by Ritsuka's forwardness or the fact that the boy had stayed with him all night. He could feel love for his sacrifice growing exponentially on a daily basis because of all the little things the child did. For the moment though, he didn't want to expose the fragile creature in his kitchen to more heartache than he'd already witnessed in his young life. When he was older, Soubi made a promise to himself, he would explain everything the boy wanted to know.

"Why don't you get the eggs and flour then, Ritsuka. We can make them together." Soubi stated with a smile.

Ritsuka nodded and went about collecting the necessary ingredients. Neither of the pair would admit it, but even something as simple as making pancakes helped to comfort. This was all because it was being done together.


	4. Spiritual

I want to thank everyone who has read and reviewed this little collection of one-shots. I do respond to anyone who leaves a comment, but for those who do not, I thank you as well for reading what I have written.

This chapter deals with some adult subject matter, but does not warrant an M rating.

/GG/

Spiritual

The idea of going to an onsen had been completely appealing, but he'd really wanted to turn it down. Going to an onsen meant he had to show his naked body to other individuals and in doing so many questions would be asked about why his back looked as it did, or why the word 'beloved' was carved into his neck. Of course, once he'd told the benefactors of his desire not to go because he didn't want to be around other individuals, the ones who had chosen Soubi's painting insisted that the room reserved had a private spring in the back and he wouldn't have to be around anyone if he didn't so desire.

By himself was what he'd wanted and it would have remained that way had Kio not insisted on coming. Soubi had told him no, end of story. Kio pouted and then the next time the green-haired art student saw Ritsuka, he'd complained to the boy about the trip and Soubi not taking him. This pissed Soubi off as he tried to ignore Ritsuka's pointed stare.

Eventually, after Kio was kicked out of the apartment, Soubi and Ritsuka had a little talk about the vacation trip. The youth had been completely supportive of Soubi going on his own and even praised him on a job well done for being chosen for such an award. He then mentioned a trip to a hot spring that had taken place when he was six and his brother was still alive. Sadness enveloped the boy's eyes and before Soubi knew it he'd invited Ritsuka to accompany him.

Soubi wasn't surprised when Ritsuka initially turned the trip down; he hadn't wanted to bother the fighter on his relaxing vacation. At this Soubi persisted. He'd informed Ritsuka that it was more than all right for him to accompany the older male on the trip. Such an opportunity would help them grow as a fighter pair. After the coaxing, Ritsuka agreed and that was how the two ended up on the bus that next Saturday after school.

/GG/

"This area is nice; I wish they would stop and let us take pictures," Ritsuka said softly, face looking out the window as the bus drove down the roadway.

"There will be plenty of trees and flowers for you to photograph at the hot spring, Ritsuka," Soubi said calmly. While on the outside he was calm, on the inside he was both thrilled and horrified that the younger male had agreed to accompany him.

It was his doing that young Ritsuka was coming on the trip, so he couldn't really fault the boy. Soubi knew that even though Ritsuka was also calm, he was probably a little nervous about this type of trip as well. He wouldn't do anything; Soubi'd spoken the truth in that he couldn't get it up with thoughts of children, but with everyone calling him a pervert he knew how this must look.

Soubi shook his head to get such thoughts out of his brain. He wouldn't think anything of the sort while on this trip. All this trip was going to be was an opportunity to rest and relax. Bonding would occur too, he was sure. Getting closer to Ritsuka on a spiritual level was important to the fighter of the pair, and maybe such a trip would bring about that closeness he desired.

"We should be able to see the motel from here, Soubi," Ritsuka said as he scanned the countryside. Soubi helped him look and when he saw it he pointed Ritsuka's head in the right direction. He could feel the excitement radiating from his young sacrifice when the onsen first came into view. "Wow, it's so big!" Ritsuka exclaimed in wonderment.

"It was a good prize to win, Ritsuka."

/GG/

The lobby of the motel was bigger than the whole of Ritsuka's house, and he was in awe. Coming to someplace like this was only a dream just a few weeks ago. With the way his family was spectacularly falling apart, he'd never have thought to be able to come. Ritsuka had told his mother he was going with a friend and she just ignored him, for which he was grateful. He didn't want to have to explain more bruising on his tiny body.

The thought of Soubi seeing all of the bruises he wore made his heart jump. He was able to cover himself up and take a bath on his own. Now there would be a way for the older man to see just what marred his flesh. Why he hadn't thought of that before entering the facility, he'd never know, but with each step toward the room he could feel his heart's beat grow louder and louder in his ears.

/GG/

Once inside the room, both looked at the facilities. There were two futons off to the side, a table and chairs off to the other. Through one door there was a bathroom and through the other was the private spring tub. Soubi looked at the spring with trepidation in his mind as the hot water molecules rose from the spring and disappeared into the air. He almost turned around and insisted they go home, but something kept him grounded; he couldn't even move.

"Soubi, are you alright?" Ritsuka asked, worry etched on his brow.

"I am fine," Soubi lied.

The cat-eared boy didn't believe the fighter for a minute, but didn't say anything. He knew exactly what Soubi was feeling. Ritsuka realized that, just like him, Soubi was probably just as worried about showing off his scars. Even though he'd seen them before, they still made the older male apprehensive.

"Should we take a bath first in the spring?" Ritsuka asked, wanting to see if his thoughts were true. They were right on the mark as Soubi let out a slight bit of eye movement, indicating that he was a little nervous.

"If that is what you want." Soubi said softly.

It is common knowledge that by shedding one's clothes and bathing together, two men can bond and share life experiences with no inhibitions. Clothes represent a way to hide the past and even the present. Without the clothes to protect one's body, all the blemishes of that person are free for the world to see. This type of bonding can bring the two men closer or could drive a wedge between the two, depending on how much laundry there is to air.

/GG/

Soubi spent fifteen minutes putting his and Ritsuka's clothes into the dresser from their bags. Then he walked to the bathroom where he knew the boy had already stripped and was washing the dirt and grime off his body. When he stopped at the doorstep his heart leapt into his throat.

There stood Ritsuka with the shower nozzle over his head. He was naked and the water was running off his tiny form. On said form were a smattering of bruises; some of them light and healing, some of them dark and new. A thin gash ran across the boy's chest and it made Soubi angry that it was right over Ritsuka's heart. Who would want to hurt such a poor, defenseless creature?

Ritsuka looked at Soubi and blushed before turning his body around. He knew the older man was staring at the scars on his body and not 'other' areas, but it still made him a little flustered. The boy was baring his soul to his fighter in that moment and saying, without the use of words, _I want you to know everything about me, so it's okay to share everything about you too. _

Soubi started to take his clothes off in the doorway as Ritsuka continued washing his hair with the soap provided by the motel. Slowly he undid each button on his shirt and pulled it off. Then he slipped out of his pants and his underwear. It wasn't the idea of baring his private areas to the boy, but having to share the scars on his back. He knew Ritsuka had seen them, but it wouldn't matter how many times he showed them off, they were still there and would never disappear.

After Ritsuka finished washing his hair he walked over to Soubi, who stood naked in the doorway, and pulled him toward the stool next to the drain. He recalled how his brother used to bathe him when he was younger, so he proceeded to use his memories and bathe his fighter. That was the least he could do to help the man lose some of his edginess.

He started by showering him with water. The water would hit Soubi's skin and bounce back, hitting Ritsuka before falling to the ground. Once the elder's hair was completely wet, Ritsuka used the shampoo and washed Soubi's long hair with all the tenderness he could muster. After he finished rubbing in the shampoo, he used a cloth and started to wipe away the dirt that covered the fighter's back, taking extra special care to wipe away at the scars. He could feel Soubi shiver under his touch and knew the man had never allowed anyone else in the world to touch him like that.

Soubi let Ritsuka finish wiping him down, at least the upper part of the body. When it was time to clean the lower part he could see the boy blush like mad, so he took care of his nether regions himself. This little boy, his sacrifice, had given him a gift that day, the gift of spiritual healing. Not a single perverted thought had entered his mind, for which he was grateful since Kio's constant bantering about the subject had started getting on his nerves.

Once Soubi was completely covered in suds, Ritsuka used the shower head to wash the soap off. By helping Soubi overcome his tense state, he himself had been helped. Sometimes it took taking care of another to overcome the feelings of anxiety that plagued the mind.

Clean and calm with spiritual healing, Ritsuka and Soubi walked from the bathroom, hand-in-hand and naked, toward the spring. Maybe, if they felt comfortable in the future, they might try to share themselves with others in the same manner they had just shared themselves with each other. That wouldn't happen for quite a long time though, and that was okay with both. In that moment, all that mattered was they were able to sit in the spring together and talk freely, or just sit and enjoy one another's company.


	5. Romance

Romance

Receiving a confession usually invokes some sort of immediate reaction out of a person. It may be a good reaction to the confessor or a not so good reaction. Obviously the person wants a reaction if they are confessing, but when a reaction isn't given then the person who just confessed should probably expect the not so good reaction.

Ritsuka walked out of the school with Yuiko and Yayoi at his heals. The purpose behind each step was clear; to vacate the area as soon as possible. Soubi watched the youth make a beeline for him; his friends, both almost in tears, running behind the cat-eared boy. The artist didn't even have a chance to offer a greeting before Ritsuka grabbed him by the hand and pulled him away from the building. He could hear Yuiko burst into tears and Yayoi trying to calm her down as he walked further away.

The walk was rather fast-paced and soon the pair were far enough from the school that even Yuiko's incessant cries were not heard. Ritsuka didn't quite know how to react to the prior situation, so he did what he thought best; he removed himself from the questions. He didn't quite know how to answer the confession he'd received from Yuiko prior to leaving the classroom. Nor did he know how to respond to Yayoi getting in his face and demanding to know what his answer was.

"Ritsuka?" Soubi asked an entire sentence in one little word.

"Yuiko told me she loves me today and that she wants to be my girlfriend," the younger boy answered with a stoic look in his eyes.

"What did you say to the confession?" Soubi was generally curious about when he might possibly lose his second sacrifice.

"I don't quite know how to respond to her confession, Soubi, because my mind isn't in that place right now. I wouldn't even know where to begin."

This thought troubled Ritsuka, as the boy was adept at being a sacrifice, keeping his grades up, dealing with an abusive parent, and maintain his friendships. Why in the hell couldn't he figure out romancing people, or being that way with another person? In truth, it was making him feel rather inadequate.

Soubi gazed fondly at his little sacrifice and the other's face made him realize he did want to help. Even if it meant he'd end up losing Ritsuka to someone else, he just wanted the boy to be happy. Ritsuka's happiness was the only thing that mattered. He'd never admit that to Ritsuka though, or he'd get his head handed to him when said boy told him that Soubi's own happiness was just as important.

"I can show you what you are looking for, Ritsuka," Soubi said calmly. "Then you can tell Yuiko your answer."

Ritsuka eyed Soubi from his vantage point for a spell and the nodded. "No funny business though."

"Is that an order?" Soubi asked.

The younger of the two glared up at his taller partner. Soubi was obviously baiting him, but he wouldn't bite. Ritsuka was not going to order Soubi to do anything anymore, if it could be helped. This lesson on love was not something that required an order of any sort.

"No, that is not an order," he snapped, unintentionally. "You are older than me, I expect you to act accordingly."

Soubi laughed slightly and ruffled the boy's hair, right between the cat ears, which earned him those cute little twitches they made when he rubbed Ritsuka's head. Funny enough, when he did rub between the ears his tail also tended to move from side to side in a happy manner. Obviously Ritsuka was calling out for some physical contact with someone.

The artist reached down and took Ritsuka's hand in his as he started walking through the streets. It wasn't uncommon for him to hold the grade-schooler's hand, but he turned around and explained his action.

"When you are with someone, Ritsuka, it is common to hold their hand like this." He picked up their combined hands and showed it to the boy.

"That's common knowledge, Soubi, tell me something I don't know."

Soubi smirked. "I am getting there. Have patience, my Ritsuka."

Ritsuka rolled his eyes and let the older man lead him toward a mid-range restaurant. They walked inside and were immediately seated as it was three in the afternoon, so it was definitely down time. Soubi pulled out the chair at the western table and motioned for Ritsuka to sit. The boy complied and soon they were sitting across from one another, looking through the menu.

"What would you like to try, Ritsuka?" Soubi asked.

"Can you afford this stuff?" He wasn't sure a college student had the money to be purchasing 5000 yen per plate meals.

"We're going to share," Soubi stated calmly.

"What do you mean share?" Ritsuka demanded.

"I mean girls like it when they share a meal with their boyfriends. Kio is always asking to share a meal with me in a restaurant."

Ritsuka scoffed. "Kio is a guy; surely there is a difference between girls and boys in that sense."

Soubi smiled slightly. "Kio is one of a kind, but from him I have learned that one partner may like sharing the food, or even being fed. Yuiko seems the type to like that idea."

This idea caused Ritsuka to shake his head. "She's human and capable of feeding herself. Why would a person need to feed another?"

"Because it's romantic, Ritsuka."

"Doesn't sound very romantic to me," he replied. "Then what, after she's fed like a baby, we kiss, we do…other stuff…" he couldn't continue because the blush on his face caused his skin to burn with embarrassment.

At that point Soubi knew his young sacrifice was completely aware of what a relationship with a girl might entail. Ritsuka wasn't ignorant of what went on around him; he was just young and not interested at that stage. If Yuiko waited a few years then maybe she would have had a different response.

"I don't want to do that with Yuiko though," Ritsuka said quietly.

"Then maybe she isn't the one for you or you just aren't ready at your age, Ritsuka," Soubi said with his usual emotionless voice.

Ritsuka shook his head. "No, it's not that. I will never want to do that with her because I only see her as a friend. She's not someone I can tell my secrets to, or I can bring into my private life. If I were going to be with someone I'd want to be with someone like you…" he broke off and blushed again when he realized what he'd just said. "I mean…"

Soubi smiled. "It's okay, Ritsuka, I understand what you meant. I am someone who knows about who you are outside of school, so you want someone you can trust like me."

"Yes." The reply was soft, barely above a whisper. Though that trust had been shady in the start, it had started to build after Septimal Moon.

"You can always change your mind later on, Ritsuka."

The boy looked at his fighter and nodded. "I know, but it won't happen. It's not because I am young that it won't happen because I don't want it to happen in the future either."

Soubi reached across the table and took hold of one of Ritsuka's small hands. He squeezed it with reassurance in his.

"Romance can come at any time, it doesn't have to happen now."

He was right, and Ritsuka knew it. The thought that floated through his head during the conversation though wasn't that he wouldn't find someone he cared about in that way, but that if he did he would probably end up losing Soubi. The older man wouldn't want to admit it and neither would he, but the thought of losing one another to anyone after going through what they had been through together was a fear that might never go away.

"Let's share an ice cream sundae, Soubi," Ritsuka said. "I'll feed myself, though."

Soubi's eyes danced as he watched Ritsuka fidget with that last sentence. He really was a kid, but one day he would grow up and his ideas would change. No matter what happened in the future though, he wasn't going to leave the boy, because they were tied to one another with a bond that couldn't be broken.


	6. Here is My Secret

Here is My Secret

Whenever Ritsuka had a new assignment that required planning additional time outside of class he felt a sense of dread. Not because he wasn't interested in the assignment, but because of the person who would ask to be his partner or study mate. As much as he adored Yuiko, he couldn't fathom bringing her to his house because of his mother and her 'ways'. He would never subjugate any sort of person to what his mother was capable of; but more importantly he was more worried about what his friend would see and report. Yuiko was not one for keeping her mouth shut; ever.

This particular assignment was to observe something out of this world and write a paper. The paper was the easy part; it was finding something he could do on his own without the need for someone else to assist. Ritsuka could almost hear Yuiko turn around after the assignment was posted to ask to work with him, but he was saved when he felt 'the call'. The call being when he could feel Soubi needed him for some reason.

Without so much as a goodbye, he stood up and raced from the classroom like the building was on fire. Yuiko was calling down the hall after him as he bolted. He was grateful for the fact that Soubi had 'called', but he was also worried. Why was Soubi calling him? The feeling of 'the call' was faint, but it was still there.

The first time he felt it just about caused him to piss his pants. Since then he'd become used to it, at least to the point where it no longer caused him to race toward his fighter…his friend. That was, unless it was a means to escape, as was the excuse that day.

After exiting the school though he was surprised to see the older man standing at the gate. Almost instantly his worry was changed into annoyance. Glare prominent on his face; he stalked toward Soubi with a pissed-off look in his eyes.

"Soubi!" he hissed. "You promised you wouldn't use _that_ unless it was an actual emergency. First it was for going to the Ferris Wheel. Then you used it to call me to come over and eat dinner." His words started getting rather heated. "What is it for now?"

Soubi suppressed a chuckle; he loved it when his sacrifice showed real emotions and didn't cover them up like used to happen in the past.

"I could tell you needed an escape, Ritsuka," Soubi replied calmly.

The young man eyed his older friend warily. "What do you mean you could tell I needed an escape?"

"I have been forging a bond between us since the day we met; eventually that bond was bound to occur to the point where we could _tell_ when one another was feeling some sort of strong emotion."

Ritsuka thought back to all the _bonding_ Soubi was talking about. Obviously the fighting, the constant contact, and even the kissing had done something to the two of them. He glowered at Soubi, which lasted a whole two seconds before he decided it wasn't worth it. He wouldn't trade his relationship with the man at that point in time anyway.

"What do you plan on doing about it then?"

"Helping you out, obviously. Why were you in distress?"

Ritsuka scoffed. "I wasn't distressed…just a little nervous, just like I am with any assignment that someone might want to work on me with. Yuiko's been trying to meet with my family more and more. I don't want her getting hurt."

Soubi placed a hand on the young man's head and rubbed right between the cat ears. "You always think of others before yourself, Ritsuka. Is it any wonder that she loves you like she does?"

This statement caused Ritsuka to blush about ten shades of red. Why the college student always had to bring up perverted topics was beyond him. He hoped that by the time he was that age he didn't turn in that direction. Rather than jump around the idea he decided to spill it so Soubi wouldn't pester him anymore.

"I need to view something out of this world and write a report on it," he answered. "I didn't get a chance to really think about it before _you_ called, so I am not sure what I want write the paper on yet."

Soubi smiled. He'd been informed by the Zeros of the assignment the prior week, thanks to their special brand of talent, so he was prepared for this. Whatever he could do to make his little sacrifice's life easier was necessary. Everything was for Ritsuka.

"Then come with me, I will help you."

Ritsuka was at a loss. "How…?" He didn't get a chance to finish asking his question before Soubi took hold of his hand and pulled him to Kio's car. The boy had learned that when Soubi got something into his thick skull it was best to just let him have his fun, so he just went along with it. After all, the man was always going along with him, so it was worth it to give the other some freedom too.

/GG/

The car ride had lasted a couple of hours. Ritsuka had even fallen into a restless sleep during part of it thanks to the gentle hum of the car engine. Soubi had been rather silent and hadn't turned on the radio, so the rhythmic movement of the vehicle along with the calming sounds lulled him into sleep. The only reason it had been restless was because of the dreams he kept having. They never really stopped, he had just gotten so used to seeing people dying he'd all but let it become part of his life and his dreams.

Only when the car stopped and did he wake to see Soubi staring at him intently. "We need to walk a ways, Ritsuka. Are you ready?"

The boy nodded and unbuckled his seatbelt before exiting the car. Only then did he look around and see that they had left the city and were someplace completely new to him. Trust was still not complete when it came to Soubi for a great number of things, but he knew the man would never harm him, so he went along with what the elder wanted to do.

Soubi entwined his fingers with his sacrifice and led the smaller boy toward the hills. He remembered coming to that place when he was a child. It was one of the last remaining memories he had of his parents before their deaths. He wanted to share the memory with his the last person he considered family, some day.

Silence ensued as they continued on their way, and soon Soubi could see their final destination. The sun had started setting and it was clear skies all the way. He hoped Ritsuka could come to appreciate the beauty as he had.

"What is this place Soubi?" Ritsuka asked once they'd reached the top of the hill. He looked around and took in the scene. There were trees fifty or so meters to the left of where they stood. There was a small pond to the right. Flowers dotted the landscape and the sun was setting because the trek had taken quite a few hours.

"We are going to watch the shooting stars," Soubi stated simply. "You said you needed to observe something _out of this world_ and I think shooting stars would fall into that category."

To say Ritsuka was stunned was an understatement. Soubi had just taken an entire afternoon and an evening to help him with his assignment; not only that but the art student had even managed to find the topic. Ritsuka had been talking about the shooting stars for over a month, but never expected to get to see them. The city lights were too bright for viewing and the travel to a more remote area was extensive. Without him even being aware, he'd been given an opportunity to see something he'd always wanted to see.

Soubi placed a blanket on the ground and sprawled onto it, indicating Ritsuka should join him. The younger complied and placed himself next to his fighter on the patchwork quilt and looked up at the sky. He could see the stars dotting the nighttime sky and let himself be taken away. Looking at the dim stars had always been a way for him to escape from life; much like a science fiction television show had a way of whisking a viewer to a different reality.

Another lengthy silence came over both of them as they waited for the meteor shower. Soubi wouldn't have been one bit surprised if they ended up falling asleep right on that blanket. He did know if that happened though the boy would have had a conniption fit for varying reasons. Moments after that thought, Ritsuka started to speak in a sleepy tone.

"I used to dream when I was a kid that Seimei and I would catch a shooting star and go on different adventures," Ritsuka said as the first of the meteors started to flash in the sky.

Soubi's heart leapt into his throat. What Ritsuka was reminiscing about was the same book he'd been read since he could remember. "The Little Prince" was the first and only book he could recall his parents ever reading to him as a child.

"Here is my secret. It is very simple: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."** Soubi said this with a lazy drawl. This phrase had more of a meaning than stated, because Soubi used his heart to see what was important for Ritsuka, while Ritsuka still used his head.

Ritsuka smiled. "You've read "The Little Prince" too, Soubi?"

"Yes." _My parents read it to me when I was a child. _He wanted to say more, but he hadn't quite gotten to the point where he spoke about his parents with the boy yet. Ritsuka had enough to deal with regarding his own, and very much alive parents; he didn't need to deal with ghosts of the past too.

Ritsuka rolled over onto his side and looked at Soubi. He knew something was deep inside the heart of the man who lie next to him. One day he intended to find that out, but for the moment he would just let it be. Instead he reached over to the elder and held onto his hand.

"Just for tonight, we can pretend we are the prince and go somewhere else."

Soubi looked over at the boy and realized he had fallen asleep. It wasn't completely like a science fiction book, lying on a blanket and gazing at the falling stars, but their dreams could easily follow that direction.

"Here is my secret, Ritsuka," he whispered to the sleeping form next to him. "I would grab that star and take you away from here, just to save your childhood, if I could."

The fighter was grateful his sacrifice was asleep. He loved the boy enough to do anything for him; whether it be to take the hit during a fight or help him with a school project. Nothing would change in his life; Ritsuka would always be number one.

/GG/

_** _Direct quote from _Le Petit Prince_ (1943), a novel by Antoine de Saint Exupéry.


	7. Felt the Same

There are some minor spoilers for the latest chapters in the manga since those last chapters shocked the hell out of my system. Also, Lust for Life and Surviving Picasso are real movies. I don't own those any more than I own Loveless.

/GG/

Felt the Same

The man stole stealthily into the room, curtain rustling behind him as the breeze whipped his hair around his face like the veil on a bride during her wedding day. He could smell the cigarette smoke on his hair as it settled next to his neck once completely inside of the room. Over in the corner, lying on the bed, was the reason for his midnight visit. His little Ritsuka had fallen asleep with his shirt in his arms like a security blanket. This thought made him smile; the boy really was showing him love, even if he didn't admit it openly.

Soubi could see the fresh bruises on the boy's arms and face. Even as cute as Ritsuka looked, it was sad to see him looking so helpless. Damn his mother for doing this to her son, and damn him for going away for the weekend for an exhibition when he felt it was a bad idea.

As an art student it was his responsibility to explore and learn about new talent. Kio had decided he wanted to check out an up-and-coming individual's exhibit in Nagasaki. It was to be a weekend trip and Soubi hadn't wanted to go. The only reason he ended up taking the trip was Ritsuka had insisted on him going and keeping his GPA up.

"_How are you supposed to be a good role-model if you can't even keep your grades up?"_

The words had hit home and Soubi ended up agreeing to ensure the boy's happiness. Ritsuka, Natsuo, and Youji watched the two as they drove off in Kio's car. It wasn't less than five hours later that Soubi had felt the calling through the bond. Without so much as a by your leave he left Kio, hopped the nearest train, and hightailed it back toward home; toward Ritsuka.

The computer screen was still on, showing some sort of download, and it illuminated the room enough to see everything clearly. The boy was lying on his bed, fresh blood dripping onto the sheets. Ritsuka couldn't stay like that and Soubi wasn't about to let him.

He went into the bathroom and grabbed the first aid kit and a damp wash cloth. With any luck he'd be able to clean Ritsuka up without the boy even waking. Tending those wounds was going to hurt and if he was still asleep Soubi could keep him from feeling any more pain.

/GG/

Soubi started with the bruises and cuts on Ritsuka's arm. Gently, he lifted the frail arm and wiped it down before cleaning it with disinfectants. He could feel Ritsuka move under his care and knew that it would only be moments before the other's eyes opened.

"It's okay, Ritsuka," the man said softly as Ritsuka opened his eyes and then flinched at the feel of cleaning solution on his arm. His mother had taken a pan to his appendage and then just barely missed his head. He'd actually ended up hurting his head when he fell to the floor and smashed into the corner of the wall.

"You're lucky, Ritsuka, this could have been much worse."

Soubi hated that Ritsuka was exhibiting symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome. The boy would never leave his abusive mother because he'd somehow brainwashed himself into thinking it was worse to hurt someone with words than physically.

"Soubi?" the younger of the two asked. "Why are you here?"

"I left when I felt you in pain."

Ritsuka's eyes went wide as Soubi lifted him into a sitting position and checked him over for any further damage.

"I didn't know the bonds were that strong," he admitted.

Soubi didn't answer immediately. He continued scouring the boy with his trained eyes, looking for any sort of cut, abrasion, bruise; both internal and external. It was more important for him to make sure Ritsuka was safe before explaining anything that had to do with their little world.

Once he found every single nick and cut and treated them, he bandaged the wounds and then kissed each bandage, making Ritsuka blush. Then he picked Ritsuka up and put him in the chair while he cleaned up the sheets and blood mess. In his mind he wanted nothing more than to take Ritsuka away from that hellhole he called home, but he knew that there was no way to take him if the boy didn't agree.

"How could you feel me, Soubi?" Ritsuka asked again once the older man had stopped moving about the room and sat on the floor next to the bed.

"Our bond is different, Ritsuka," Soubi said with a sigh. He was tired, pissed, and worried. "We don't have the same name, so our bond is different…deeper."

Ritsuka still hadn't had much of a chance to test their bond. He knew that he was connected with someone; he could sense the threads at times and occasionally see them. Secretly he'd hoped that they would eventually connect with Soubi. Even after the older man had left him to go back to his brother, he'd held out hope that the threads still connected the two, somehow.

"How is it deeper, how can you make the bond that much deeper?"

"I've been trained to create a bond with someone who doesn't have my name since I have no name. I spent time cultivating that with your brother, and then I enhanced it when I started to create that bond with you."

The grade-schooler stood up and walked over to sit next to Soubi, lights still off and computer bringing on a soft glow. He could see the reflection of the screen in Soubi's glasses. Behind those lenses he could see the other's eyes; kind and loving.

"Do you think these threads will ever connect us?" Ritsuka asked as he reached out to touch them, even though he knew it was impossible.

Soubi reached up and rubbed the tip of Ritsuka's cat ear. "Possibly, but you're too young for that type of action, Ritsuka."

The movement caused Ritsuka to quiver slightly, but he didn't move away. "Better be careful, one of these days someone's gonna see your perverse actions and call you a pedophile."

Soubi laughed slightly. "I am not worried about the rest of the world; I am only worried about you, Ritsuka."

Deep down Ritsuka felt happy that the man had come back and that he had meant what he'd said when he said he'd never leave, no matter what. Ritsuka loved Soubi and wanted to remain with him forever; he knew Soubi felt the same way.

Ding!

Both looked at the computer and Ritsuka jumped up and looked at the screen. A smile snaked its way across his face as he saw that his downloads were both finished.

"What are you doing, Ritsuka?" Soubi asked as he looked over the boy's shoulder at the computer screen.

"I wanted to watch some movies with you so I downloaded a torrent and found a movie about Picasso and one about van Gogh. I thought we could watch them together," Ritsuka said happily as he moved the video files to a new folder on his desktop.

Soubi could feel the emotions boil over in his veins as he heard what the younger man said. Just another way for them to spend time together, but Ritsuka had taken his interests to heart when he decided to partake of this new venture.

Ritsuka could feel the older man's hand on his head, rubbing between his cat ears. Then he felt a drop of water land on his neck. He turned around and saw a tear had traced its way down Soubi's face and fallen due to gravity.

"I'm happy, Ritsuka," Soubi insisted.

"Me too."

Ritsuka reached around and held onto Soubi's hand with his, tracing the older man's larger fingers with his smaller ones. He could feel the tiny hairs on Soubi's fingers and the slight shaking of his hand. It was obvious no one had ever done something like this for his mentor before; Ritsuka was just glad he could make the man so happy he ended up crying.


	8. Dream

I want to thank everyone who is reading and responding to my stories here. I am having fun writing them, even though I don't have a set schedule when I type and post. As this is my favorite series, I am glad to have met some people who are just as interested in Loveless as I am.

I don't own, never will.

/GG/

Dream

Rain fell from the sky in droves, causing the streets to become flooded and schools to close early. A typhoon was on its way and wasn't supposed to let up for a few days. Ritsuka sat in his classroom, the last one in the room because everyone else had left, letting his mind wander. He didn't really want to go home because that would mean he'd need to be alone in the house for longer with his mother, who'd been nice enough to put a gash in his forehead that morning. Normally he'd want to return home to see if she'd accept him, as she rarely did, but for some reason he figured the typhoon would cause her to be more on edge. She'd probably end up making a comment about how _her_ Ritsuka would never track water through the house.

He'd already send an e-mail to Soubi, so he figured the other would come to collect him in a short amount of time. Ritsuka just needed to wait an extra half an hour or so. If he hid away from his mother while the typhoon was blasting away then maybe her attitude would clear up with the weather in a few days.

Ritsuka closed his eyes and sighed, letting a daydream overtake his psyche. In the dream he could see Soubi walking toward him with a huge grin plastered on his face. That was a rare occurrence; then again there'd never been a huge grin before on the man's face that he was aware. Small smiles every now and then, but never a huge grin before.

Then he found himself in a more god-like perspective and realized that it wasn't him in the dream, but his brother. Had Soubi really smiled at his brother like that at any point in their relationship? He hoped it was just his mind thinking that Soubi had ever smiled like that for someone. The idea actually made him a little jealous.

Why he was jealous was an unknown element. He had no idea why the idea of the older man smiling at someone else would make him jealous. In truth, Ritsuka would love it if Soubi smiled more and actually meant it. One of those huge grins he himself used to have when he was a child in those pictures he'd seen of him and his brother. Those types of genuine smiles were rare; he doubted he'd had one in years.

He continued to watch the scene unfold. There was no sound to the scene; he could only see body language. Obviously his brother and Soubi had a good relationship if they were that friendly with one another. He even saw Seimei hold hands with the blond-haired older man. Ritsuka never would have pegged his brother as someone who would hold anyone's hand, except maybe his.

Then he noticed something that didn't stick out if one wasn't looking. Seimei didn't have his ears anymore. How was that possible? The last time he'd seen his older brother those ears had still been attached. Maybe the dream was a premonition of what was to come and Seimei was going to make Soubi take his ears. Though, the way they were interacting, it was probably a mutual agreement for the loss.

Maybe it wasn't Soubi who had taken his brother's ears; maybe it was Nisei. Ritsuka was sure the older fighter was more than happy to take Seimei's ears if Seimei allowed. The very idea made him want to gag; the loss of ears should have only been with someone a person loved.

Ritsuka then saw himself in Seimei's position again and he could feel Soubi's hand in his own. He looked at the other man and realized Soubi was looking at him with a curious expression on his face. Then the man spoke, but it wasn't Seimei's name, it was his own. Ritsuka realized that he was seeing himself in the future and his ears were gone.

This caused the boy to snap out of his daydream and shake his head. The rain was still crashing against the windowsill. Ritsuka watched the droplets fall down the window pane and land in the pool on the ledge. Once the pool got too big for the ledge gravity took over and caused the water to cascade down to the ground below.

The daydream didn't want to leave his mind and he wondered if it was going to happen. If so, who was he going to give his ears to? Or was someone going to take them without his permission?

On the grounds he could see Soubi making his way toward the entrance. He'd finally be able to leave school and make his way to the other's home. Maybe he'd even be able to figure more out about the strange daydream he'd had.

/GG/

"Ritsuka?" Soubi asked when it was way passed either of their bedtime, not that they ever really adhered to any sort of sleeping schedule the way a _normal_ couple of people would. Normal meaning someone who wasn't part of a fighting pair.

The young man had been sitting on the sofa, eyes glued to the television, which had gone to static at some point about two hours ago. Ritsuka hadn't moved in that time and it worried the man when he saw the small figure starting at nothing. He waved his hand in front of the boy's eyes and didn't even get rewarded with a blink.

Maybe Ritsuka was sleeping with his eyes open. If that were the case then he needed to close them before his eyes dried out. Soubi reached his fingers over to the kid's eyes and lowered the lids, only to have them snap back open and a hand grab his and push it away. Ritsuka looked over at the older man with confusion on his face.

"Soubi?" he asked with a yawn. "What time is it?"

"Three in the morning, Ritsuka," he stated monotonously.

"How come we aren't in bed then?" Ritsuka asked rather dumbly.

"I was painting and I thought you were watching television. It appears not."

Ritsuka shook his head and stood up. He'd been thinking about his daydream, for hours it seemed. Where the time had run off to was beyond him. He was just glad he didn't have to wake up and go to school in a few hours.

The tween headed toward the bathroom to change into bed clothes, Soubi followed.

"What were you thinking about, Ritsuka?"

"I had a weird daydream today about us, in the future," he stated as he shut the curtain separating the toilet from the rest of the studio. "I didn't have my ears, but you were smiling."

Soubi thought for a moment about the dream his sacrifice was talking about. A time in which he was smiling; such a time hadn't happened in years. Plus, the loss of Ritsuka's innocence was quite the intriguing prospect.

"Who did you give your ears to, Ritsuka? Was it Yuiko?"

Ritsuka shuddered slightly. He adored his friendship with the girl, but he couldn't fathom being with her in any sort of sexual way.

"I hope not, I'd rather lose them to someone I love…" Ritsuka stalled in his thoughts as he realized he had no idea what love really was in a sexual way, nor did he want to know any time too soon. "Maybe some pervert took them from me." He said as he pulled back the curtain and stepped out wearing one of Soubi's shirts.

Soubi grinned; bemused. Ritsuka was too small for that shirt, which also meant he was way too young to be losing his ears anyway.

"I can promise you, Ritsuka," Soubi said with a small grin, "I do not plan on taking such an important thing from you; whether you are ready or not. I would never force someone to lose that innocence without their permission."

Hearing those words made Ritsuka blanch slightly. He'd probably hit a cord within the older man, who had been raped and forced to lose his ears before he was ready. Ritsuka'd never wanted to hurt his older friend by bringing up those issues. Then again, maybe if they talked about them it would help Soubi to smile like he had in that dream.

"If you could go back and change what happened, with your parents dying, and being abused, would you?" Ritsuka asked as he walked over to the bed and climbed in.

A slight look of pain passed quickly from Soubi's features as he watched the older man walk toward him.

"It's not important anymore, my Ritsuka," Soubi said softly. "Right now it's more important that you go to bed so you can grow up."

Soubi patted the younger boy on the head and turned to leave, but Ritsuka wouldn't hear of it. He grabbed the elder's hand and pulled him onto the bed. Soubi landed with a soft bounce and looked into the young man's face.

"I want you to answer the question, Soubi. It's not an order, but I am generally interested, since so many people seem to think we are _more_ than what we are."

Soubi's eyes widened. "Who made such vulgar comments?"

"Yuiko and Yayoi have both commented on our relationship, as have a few of the girls in my class who like to gaze at you standing at the gate; smoking. You should stop doing that in front of the school."

"Really?" Interest had been piqued.

"Someone even pulled on my ears the other day to make sure they were real," Ritsuka spit as he had a flashback of his ears getting pulled.

"If it makes it easier I can wait for you down the block so your friends don't have to see the two of us together anymore," Soubi offered.

The grade-schooler shook his head. He wasn't particularly annoyed with the comments. In truth he tended to ignore most of what anyone from his class said. The only reason he even brought it up was because he wanted a segue into Soubi's mind.

"No, you don't have to do that." Ritsuka found that he wouldn't be able to sleep if he didn't get the answer, so he gripped tighter to the man's hand. "I do want to know if you would go back and change what happened to you. You may still have your ears if Ritsu hadn't done what he did."

Soubi had a minor flashback of his own and shook his head clear. He didn't want to bother Ritsuka with all the junk in his head regarding his former teacher. There was no guarantee he'd have retained his ears by that time if his parents were still alive, though if Ritsu hadn't raped him and he'd had the same path he'd have retained his ears to that point. Soubi had no time for intimacy.

"I don't think about things I cannot change," Soubi said. "If my parents were alive then I might not have met you, and I am not willing to give you up," he answered truthfully.

Ritsuka hadn't thought of that. If Soubi hadn't been part of his Ritsu's school then he never would have become Seimei's fighter. Subsequently, Soubi never would have been bequeathed to Ritsuka. It didn't take but a second for Ritsuka to be grateful that they couldn't just go back and change things because he wouldn't have wanted to never have met the man. It was selfish, but it was the truth.

Soubi ruffled Ritsuka's head, right between the ears, and then scratched the tips. Ritsuka involuntarily reached up into the touch. He'd not admit that he did like having someone touch him in that manner, especially someone he trusted. Soubi was someone he trusted with all of his life.

"You can sleep here tonight, Soubi. It is your bed after all," Ritsuka said with a yawn.

He burrowed under the covers and let his head hit the pillow. The last thought he had before falling asleep was that he wouldn't change his past either if it meant he'd lose his friend.

"Only if that is your wish, Ritsuka," Soubi said with a slight smile. "Don't let dreams bother you though. That's all they are; dreams."

Soubi placed himself on top of the covers and let sleep begin to overtake him. The idea of ridding himself of his troubled past was an intriguing possibility, but the changes to the present would not be acceptable. His current dream was to sleep next to Ritsuka and wake up with the boy in his life the next morning. Nothing would change that dream.


	9. Comfort

Hello to everyone who is reading this latest installment of Forever at His Side. Thank you so much for reading, and an extra thanks if anyone comments. I appreciate anyone and everyone who takes the time to read.

This chapter is a little depressing, so I can promise the next one will be a little more lighthearted.

/GG/

Trust

Three days! That was how long he'd gone without contact from the older man. Since the time the older blond had entered into his life there hadn't been a block as long as seventy-two hours in which he hadn't received a text, a call, or an unannounced visit from the man who had swept into his life like a typhoon. In the beginning he would have relished some time alone, but now that they'd been through hell and back, it bothered him that Soubi had blinked out of existence for three days.

Ritsuka sat in his desk at school occasionally looking toward the window. He couldn't see outside from his vantage point, but he hoped the man was waiting for him. For some reason, when he wasn't collected from school he felt a little lost for the remainder of the day.

His mobile sat on the desk within his reach should a red light start to flash indicating a text message; none came. Ritsuka almost willed the phone to start flashing with his lavender eyes. He felt like the guy from Star Wars*; trying to use the force to call upon the man who had given him the phone.

"Ritsuka-kun?"

The boy hardly heard his friend whispering to him. He was rather lost in thought, though he did know what the teacher was droning on about. English lessons, while important, were not something he really needed to study much on since he did quite a bit of studying on his own time. The new foreign English teacher was funny and did what he could to make the class laugh. While the old Ritsuka would have appreciated that, the current Ritsuka found it inappropriate and it kept him from wanting to pay attention.

"Ritsuka-kun?"

Yuiko had started hissing, trying to gain his attention. He didn't want to give it to the girl, but knew that she would keep pestering him if he didn't acknowledge her. Ritsuka turned to look into the big doe eyes of his friend, but didn't get to speak since the English teacher had also heard her hissing his name.

"Is there a problem, Bella?" the English teacher asked as he eyed the two.

Ritsuka rolled his eyes at Yuiko's choice in a name. Too many people had chosen to name themselves after characters in that ridiculous Twilight* series people in America were so gung-ho about. To put his own mind at ease he'd even read the first book and found it so pathetic it would have been better off used as fire starter.

"Sorry Mr. Olsen," Yuiko chirped as she stood up quickly and knocked her chair over. This earned a chorus of giggles from the bulk of the classroom, Ritsuka just gazed at her for a moment before turning his attention back to the teacher.

"I know you are, but please pay attention while in class."

"You need all the help you can get, Bella!" someone from the back of the class snickered, earning another round of laughter at the teasing. Most of the class found it ridiculous Yuiko had chosen the name for herself and were constantly egging her on.

"That's enough!" Mr. Olsen snapped.

Class resumed and Ritsuka blocked out the chattering of the teacher. He was still curious as to what Soubi was up to. In truth he was worried. It wasn't unlike the man to go off and fight people on his own, so could he have been hurt? The thought caused him to shudder a little as he recalled all the times Soubi'd been hurt in the course of their acquaintance.

Ritsuka couldn't fathom anything happening to his friend. The very idea made his tail bristle and he ended up standing and stalking out of the classroom, much to the surprise of pretty much everyone in the room. He could hear Yuiko calling after him, but he ignored her and started down the hallway. That was when he noticed there was a figure standing at the gate.

The tween paused and looked closer at the man at the gate. It wasn't Soubi, but he was familiar. Ritsuka pressed his face to the window pane to try and make out who it was when the name hit him like an arrow to the chest. It was Kio, Soubi's best friend. Seeing Kio both thrilled and frightened Ritsuka at the same time. Thrilled that he would maybe find out what had happened, frightened at the prospect of why it was Kio at the gate and not Soubi himself.

Ritsuka ran down the stairs and headed for the door, knocking a couple of individuals over in the process. He flew down the sidewalk and stopped a few inches from Kio, eyes wide with confusion. It was a little difficult to catch his breath, but he managed to slow his heart enough to speak.

"Why are you here?" he asked, winded.

"If Sou-chan finds out I'm here I will be in the doghouse, so it's best if you keep this meeting a secret," the college student said in a hushed tone.

"What happened to Soubi?" Ritsuka demanded, a little angrier than he'd intended.

"He's sick."

Ritsuka scoffed. "He heals in his sleep, how could he be sick?"

"Don't ask me these questions; I am still trying to figure you two out. But Sou-chan has been in bed with a fever for three days. I've had to keep those two little brats from dropping by and bugging the crap out of him," Kio said with a glare.

"But…" Ritsuka was confused and worry began to seep into his mind like a dry patch of earth soaks up water.

Kio put a hand on Ritsuka's head and ruffled his hair. "Listen kid, I know that you and he have some sort of pervy type relationship…"

"We do not!" Ritsuka interrupted; scandalized.

"Obviously not completely pervy though," Kio stated as he felt the younger man's cat ears.

Ritsuka batted the offending hand away from his head. "He'd never do anything like that to me when he was forced himself!"

"Glad to know you're learning more about him, even if you are a child."

The tween glared at the college student. He didn't care about much else at that moment except finding out what was going on with Soubi. Kio was not as forthcoming as he wanted him to be.

"You should go visit him after school," Kio said with a shrug. "I'm sure he'd like your company as he's kicked me out of his place. Guess he was tired of me hogging the bed."

Ritsuka blanched. "You were sleeping with him when he's sick? Who's the pervert?"

Kio rolled his eyes, "You, it would seem."

With those words he walked away from the gate of the school. Ritsuka watched him get into his car and drive off in the opposite direction of Soubi's place. The boy knew there was no way he was going to get any learning done at the school, so he headed off in the direction of Soubi's apartment, completely forgetting his books in the classroom.

/GG/

Ritsuka reached for the doorknob and slowly turned it to see if the door was unlocked. It was, so he was able to push the door open and walk inside. The apartment was dark and he could make out a form on the bed in the corner. Soubi seemed to be sleeping soundly, by the sound of the man's breathing. The air did feel a little bit off and he wondered if the fever wasn't some sort of trick from Septimal Moon. It wouldn't be the first time that group had messed with his and Soubi's lives.

After shutting the door he crept toward the bed on the balls of his feet. Each time the floor settled after he stepped he'd expected Soubi to wake up and demand an explanation. None came, so he was able to get to the bed unhindered.

He let out a breath he hadn't been aware he'd been holding and gazed at the face of the fighter. Then his breath caught in his throat again as he saw the thin sheet of sweat on the man's face. His breathing was even, but occasionally it hitched and Soubi'd wheeze. Ritsuka used his hand to feel for the man's temperature. It was hot enough to make his hand's temperature jump quite a bit, plus the fluid on his fingers made it seem all that much hotter.

"Oh, Soubi," he breathed softly. This wasn't a light fever; Ritsuka was completely aware that high temperatures in an adult could be fatal.

The boy stood up and went to the kitchen in search of a washcloth and a bowl of water. If he could help to lower the other's temperature then maybe Soubi would wake up. At least now he was aware of why the fighter hadn't been in contact for a few days and in truth it pissed him off that this man who was supposed to be his friend hadn't even bothered to contact him and let him know that he was sick. It frustrated him to no end that Soubi didn't want to confide in him all the time. Wasn't that what friendship was about; confiding in one another?

Then again, there were things that went on in Ritsuka's life that he hadn't told Soubi about either. His mother had shoved him down the stairs less than a month prior and Ritsuka hadn't shown Soubi the bruise on his backside from hitting his buttocks on the stairs as he crashed down to the bottom. If he'd mentioned the issue then he'd have ended up in the hospital, or worse, Soubi may have finally stopped listening to him and turned his mother in to the authorities.

His mother was only one part of his group of secrets. Other secrets were things he himself didn't even want to think about. But they didn't matter right then, what mattered was that Soubi was sick and thinking about things that infuriated him needed to be put on the back burner. He sat down on the bed next to Soubi's prone form and looked at the man again. He looked so peaceful, even if he was sick.

Ritsuka carefully started to wipe the ice cold water on Soubi's face. The feel of the cold water on his hands made him shiver. He could feel Soubi shivering as well from under the blankets and instinctively he wrapped his free arm around the frame of the larger man and tucked him in tightly. For a moment he wondered if he shouldn't get another blanket to wrap the man in, but he didn't know which floorboards Soubi had the bedding hidden under.

Instead of dwelling on the blankets, Ritsuka continued to wipe Soubi's brow. He'd eventually gotten a number of bags and filled them with ice cubes to put on the blankets to keep them cool. This went on for hours and Ritsuka completely forgot to keep track of the time; he didn't care. All that mattered was helping Soubi get better. Eventually sleep took hold of the boy and he fell asleep on the bed with his back against Soubi's side.

/GG/

"Ritsuka?"

The soft sound of his name slowly roused the sleeping tween from his slumber. For a moment he'd forgotten where he was, but that only lasted a mere second. When consciousness came to him he sat up quickly and had to be caught by Soubi's strong grasp. The feeling of the other's arms wrapped around him was enough of a shock to finish waking up his body and he turned toward the other with a look of confusion on his face.

"Soubi?" he asked calmly.

"Are you okay, Ritsuka?" Soubi asked softly.

Ritsuka's brow knotted as he spoke, "I'm the one who should be asking you that question."

"I am fine, Ritsuka," Soubi answered with a smile.

Soubi placed his hand on the younger man's head and ruffled his sweaty hair. Unlike when Kio touched him, the boy was fine with Soubi ruffling his hair. He didn't know why it was different, but it was.

"Why are you here, Ritsuka?"

He thought for a moment on his answer, recalling what Kio had mentioned the day prior. Far be it for him to get Soubi's friend in trouble.

"You didn't contact me in three days, what did you expect? I got worried." It wasn't a lie, just not telling the whole story.

This comment made Soubi smile; he loved it when Ritsuka showed any sort of affection. "I'm happy," he said, trying to hug the tween.

"No, you're sick. You had a fever. You can't be better after just one night when you've been sick for three days," Ritsuka insisted as he dodged the other's arms.

"But I am healed, Ritsuka," Soubi said calmly. "It was you who healed me."

Ritsuka scowled as he listened to Soubi spout nonsense.

"No, you were already healing and I am only here at the right time."

Soubi laughed. "I may have been sick, but it was you being here that healed me. If you hadn't come by then I probably would have remained with a fever."

"Unless the fever was mentally induced then it wouldn't be healed by someone's thoughts."

Then it hit Ritsuka that the fever may have been all in Soubi's mind. The body is more than capable of creating health issues if the person so wanted it to.

"That is not it either, Ritsuka," Soubi said with a grin. "I could feel your care in the bond. You healed me with the bond we share."

It was more than possible for the bond to have healing powers like that. Ritsuka wasn't completely aware of what all the bond included. He'd been meaning to study it, but refused to go to the school and learn. Logically speaking, Soubi had been able to heal himself with sleep from certain ailments, so the man may have been able to channel some sort of energy from him to clear the fever. If so, then why had it lasted three days?

"Was it words; was that how you ended up with the fever?"

Soubi wasn't sure how to answer that question. It was probably some sort of battle scar that had festered; he wasn't certain. He looked at his smaller companion and smiled softly.

"I don't know, Ritsuka."

The boy believed Soubi, for there was no reason not to, but the idea scared him. What were to happen if he himself had been caught up in some sort of spell that induced such a fever? Ritsuka knew that words were powerful, but before meeting Soubi he'd had no clue just how powerful they were. If the world he'd fallen into was enough to cause sickness on the cellular level then maybe it was a world he didn't want to belong in.

"We cannot escape this world either, Ritsuka."

Ritsuka narrowed his eyes and moved to the edge of the bed. "I don't like that you can read my mind, Soubi," he admitted softly.

Soubi maneuvered himself on the bed and pulled the young man into his lap without a fight from the younger. This was the same type of realization he too had to overcome when he'd found out the full extent of what the fighting units were about. It was a harsh reality that he'd learned to get over on his own, for Ritsuka it would be different though. He'd help the boy mold his part of the bond; he'd not leave him alone again.

"It doesn't take much to read you anymore, Ritsuka. You are an open book to me now. But…" he leaned down and kissed Ritsuka between his cat ears. "One day I hope you are the same with me. I'd give anything to have you read me like I can read you."

"When will that be?"

"When you fully accept me." The answer was clear and concise. "That won't be until you are older though, Ritsuka, so don't worry about it right now."

More confusion; that was what this man did to him.

"I want you to have a chance to grow up, Ritsuka. So right now I don't want you to worry about anything. Let's just say that you are the reason I can heal myself."

For the most part the older man had lied to Ritsuka more than he had spoken the truth, but he believed Soubi with his whole heart in that moment. On occasion, more so than not, Ritsuka trusted Soubi more than himself. He guessed that he would understand what Soubi was talking about, being able to read him, when he fully trusted him.

/GG/

Author's note:

If you haven't seen Star Wars, then his phrase is talking about using telekinesis.

I think just as Ritsuka does in this story about Twilight, and as someone who has seen first-hand how 'popular' entertainment spurns names, it's no surprise that lots of little girls use the English name Bella. Same thing happened in China when Titanic came out, all the little girls were called Rose.


	10. Humor

Hello all, and thanks for reading. This chapter has a lighter feeling, for the most part, so hopefully it brings a smile to people's faces.

/GG/

Hand in Hand

Soubi watched with amusement from his kitchen as the two little hellions known as Zeros put make-up on a sleeping Ritsuka's face. Yes, he knew he'd catch a lot of crap from his little sacrifice when the kid woke up from the much needed nap, but he also knew that letting Natsuo and Youji have their fun meant that Ritsuka was doing kid things rather than playing, or in a better word, fighting, in Soubi's world. Giving the boy a chance to be a child was extremely important to the fighter.

A grin blossomed on the man's face as he saw Natsuo take some lime green eye shadow and rub it on the sleeping cat-boy's eyelids. The incredible part of all this happened to be that Ritsuka had not woken up; in fact he hadn't even moved. Deep in his head the adult was worried as to why the kid was so tired all the time. Neither Zero had any information on the subject.

"He's not tired in class," Youji said nonchalantly.

"Maybe he's just tired of all that rubbish with his brother, I know I am," Natsuo supplied as he rubbed glitter all over Ritsuka's hair.

"Don't do that! I wanted to put that on his face after we finished putting his mask on!" Youji cried, earning him a smack upside the head.

"We can still put it on his face if he's asleep, but if you freak out like that he's gonna wake up."

Youji giggled. "I say we get that camera of his and photograph his transformation. We can sell them to the idiots at school."

"Hey, good idea," Natsuo said with a grin. "Soubi, can you get the camera out of his bag for us?"

"No," the fighter said. "I won't have anything to do with this."

"You're no fun, were you like that before the ears were taken?" Youji asked as he went in search of Ritsuka's bag.

"Yes," Soubi deadpanned.

"At least I don't have to worry about losing my personality when we finally get rid of them," Youji said as he dumped the bag upside down on the floor. He sifted through the contents and found the camera and left everything else in an unceremonious pile on the ground.

"I'm surprised you haven't lost them to each other yet," Soubi mumbled. He walked over and put Ritsuka's things back in his bag.

Soubi handled each and every piece of belonging like it was the most important thing in the world; because to Ritsuka it may well have been. Anything that he was allowed to touch deserved care and precision. He'd never let himself hurt anything that belonged to the boy.

His hand rested on a few pictures that were in the bag. Each picture had a common theme; Soubi and Ritsuka. The idea of Ritsuka keeping pictures like that close to his person made the man feel elated. Small gestures like that tended to make him feel as if they were closer than he already thought.

He put the pictures in the bag along with the rest of Ristuka's belongings. Then he placed the bag where it had been prior to Youji mucking with it. One of these days he wanted to teach the little punk some manners, but not when Ritsuka was around. When the boy was around he only thought of him and no one else.

Soubi was just about to head over to the kitchen when he heard a cough, followed by various curses from the Zeros as Ritsuka woke up.

"What are you doing to me?" Ritsuka demanded as he came to only to see Youji leaning over him with a paintbrush in his fingers.

"We just decided to give you a makeover. Kio had a magazine about it on the table and since you were asleep we had nothing better to do," Youji explained with no emotion whatsoever.

"So you decided to practice on me?"

Ritsuka wasn't really in the mood, but when his fingers went to his face and he felt powder and goop all over his cheeks he about fell out of Soubi's bed. The fact that he'd fallen asleep at some point between the school and Soubi's apartment hadn't even entered his mind as he tried to figure out what was up with his face. All he knew was that even his hair felt weird.

It only took a moment of thought for him to hop from the bed and run to the curtain that sectioned off the bathroom from the rest of the apartment. He tore the partition aside and raced to the mirror. Staring back at him wasn't his face, nor was it the face of the Ritsuka from before when Seimei was alive. No, this was the face of a clown. He had purple lips, green eyes, overly pink cheeks, and enough glitter on his face to turn him into Peter Pan's fairy.

He couldn't even scream in shock he was glued to the floor; hands resting on the sink. Violet eyes bugged out of his head and he could see his cat ears twitching at the feel of gel leaking down his head. This wasn't a makeover, this was harassment.

"Soubi," he finally choked. "Why?" He looked at the man who had a bemused expression on his face. "Why did you allow them to do this?"

Soubi couldn't help the smile that spread on his face at the young man's look of pure horror. It was obviously the first time anyone had ever played with him while he slept, but from some of the stories Kio had told him about being a kid, playing pranks on sleeping friends was a rite of passage for kids.

"Because, Ritsuka," Soubi stated simply. "This is something kids do to one another. They play games. Now it's your turn to come up with a prank to play on them."

Ritsuka looked at his reflection in the mirror and shook his head. He'd need a bath before he could even think of something to do to get back at the other boys, who were currently laughing and rolling on the floor in utter ecstasy at the looks the boy was giving.

/GG/

Soubi eventually sent the Zeros in search of food so Ritsuka could take a bath. Soubi sat on a chair next to the curtain to give the boy some privacy. His sacrifice was talking to himself about ways to retaliate that didn't involve Soubi chanting any words of destruction.

Eventually Ritsuka sat down in the bathtub and Soubi was surprised when the curtain was removed from between the two. He looked at the small boy in his bathtub and felt a camaraderie with him he'd never really felt with the other's brother. Ritsuka was special, that much was certain.

"Have you thought of what to do to get back at the boys, Ritsuka?" Soubi asked with a slight grin.

"I'm not sure. I don't remember what old Ritsuka would have done in this situation, so I am learning all of this for the first time. Do you have any ideas?" the boy asked as he dunked his head under the water.

Soubi laughed slightly. "I have less knowledge than you do on the subject, Ritsuka. I haven't had classmates like yours to help you come up with ideas."

He popped back up and shook his head slightly. "I can hardly ask Yuiko or Yayoi to help; they'd insist on coming over and I know that eventually Kio will show up. I don't want them to be on the receiving end of one of his lectures about hanging around with perverts."

That was a true statement; though he didn't tell the boy that Kio was actually out of town for a week, so there was no way the guy would show up like he usually did. Kio would have gone off on Soubi for keeping company with kids as he always did. Eventually it would get around to sex and that would probably end up embarrassing anyone who still had cat ears.

Ritsuka then came up with a good idea. "Soubi, can we make pudding?"

Soubi cocked his head to one side. "Sure, but how is that going to get back at them?"

The boy grinned. "I want to switch the sugar with salt. Both Natsuo and Youji have a sweet tooth. If we mix the two and have them help us make the pudding then they will dig in and get a surprise very quickly. The last time we made cookies they were the only ones who ended up eating any anyway."

A loud belly laugh followed as the blond threw back his head and let out an out of character laugh at the idea. Yes, the Zero boys tended to do things without thinking, which was proof that they were way too young to be in their position as a fighting unit. So, this meant that they would inhale the pudding while Soubi and Ritsuka were cleaning the dishes. To make it even more believable, Ritsuka and Soubi could even taste some and pretend to like it, even though it was going to taste horrible.

"You can be downright evil, Ritsuka," Soubi said with a smile.

"So you'll help me?" Soubi could hardly say no to someone who sounded so hopeful.

"Of course, Ritsuka. I will help you with whatever you ask for."

/GG/

Once the Zeros had returned and the plan had been set in motion, Ritsuka and Soubi worked together like clockwork. Each movement was meticulous and almost like it was planned out from the very beginning. Later on Soubi would comment that the reason they worked so well together was the bond had been cultivated enough to ensure their success as a pair, no matter what they did.

That aside, once the pudding was done and two little boys were salivating with desire, they watched with wide eyes as Soubi fed a little to Ritsuka who smiled and said it was awesome. Ritsuka then fed it to Soubi who agreed that it tasted wonderful.

"Let's clean up and then we can eat together," Ritsuka suggested as he took the implements used to create the pudding to the sink. Soubi nodded and started to put the ingredients away.

With their backs turned for just a fraction of a second it was more than enough time for Natsuo and Youji to sneak into the pudding and all but inhale it. Their minds didn't even comprehend that something was wrong with the taste immediately until Natsuo's eyes went wide. Moments later, when Soubi and Ritsuka turned around to see what was happening, both Natsuo and Youji started to spit what was in their mouths to the floor and run to the refrigerator for any sort of beverage to take the horrible taste from their mouths.

"Argh!" Youji heaved as he took a container of juice and downed it in moments. Natsuo followed suit, but the taste lingered.

"What happened?" Ritsuka asked innocently; the taste was already out of his mouth because he'd only eaten a small portion.

"It tastes horrible!" both boys screamed at once, eyes in slits.

"Why did it taste so horrible for us and not for you?" Natsuo asked as he coughed.

"It did taste bad for us," Ritsuka stated simply. "But unlike you two, we weren't greedy and only took a small taste. You two inhaled most of it before the taste had time to settle."

"So this was intentional?" Youji asked, pissed.

"Yes, payback for your little makeover this morning."

Upon hearing the word payback, both Zero boys halted any movement and thought for a moment. Ritsuka was sure they were planning their next attack, but instead he was enveloped in a hug.

"That was an awesome prank, where did you learn that one?" Natsuo asked with a laugh.

"Yeah, you need to teach us where to come up with some of these," Youji all but begged.

Soubi stood back and watched the scene unfold. Ritsuka had a grin on his face because he had managed to best the other boys. They, in turn, had grins on their faces because Ritsuka had played along and kept them from being bored. No hard feelings lasted after that initial hug.

/GG/

After Natsuo and Youji fell asleep, Soubi walked Ritsuka back to his house. They held hands and ambled down the road at a slow and steady pace.

"That was fun, Soubi," Ritsuka said. "We made some good memories today."

"Yes, Ritsuka, we did. Just promise me you will get some sleep tonight since you've been really tired as of late."

"Oh, I know I've been tired, but that's because I was working on this for you," Ritsuka said as he stopped and pulled a book from his bag. He handed it to Soubi who took it with a confused look on his face.

He opened the book and read the inscription on the front cover: Our Memories – Soubi and Ritsuka. On the first page was the first picture taken of the two while at the park. Each page was full of pictures taken with the two of them and with their other friends.

"So, this is why you had pictures in your bag, I found them when Youji dumped your bag looking for your camera."

Ritsuka blushed a little. "No, I have a few pictures in my bag so I can always remember some of our times together. I wanted you to always have those memories too, so I made this book in case you ever forget."

Soubi pulled the boy into a hug and kissed him on the head. "Nothing will ever happen to make me forget you, Ritsuka."

A tear slid down Ritsuka's cheek and he was glad the older man couldn't see. His biggest fear used to be if he lost his memory again. That had been replaced when he thought he'd lost Soubi. Now his biggest fear was the other man forgetting him.

"I love you, Ritsuka," Soubi whispered. "That will never change. Thank you for giving me these memories so I can remind myself of them every night."

'_I love you too, Soubi,' _Ritsuka thought. _'And I meant what I said; I'm never going to leave you.' _

The two continued back toward Ritsuka's house; hand in hand with smiles in their eyes.


	11. Enveloped

This little shot came to me after feeling the temperature drop rapidly, only to find out that the darn heat in the apartment doesn't work. Plus, the landlords haven't sent someone to fix as of yet either. **This one-shot includes things that may be considered spoilers for recent chapters of the manga. I am trying to keep this as canon as possible, but with the recent updates I can't guarantee it doesn't sound a little AU at times. You have been warned!**

Also, thanks to much for everyone who has read/reviewed/favorited/followed this story. I appreciate anyone who reads.

/GG/

Enveloped

Frigid was not even cold enough to describe the temperature in Ritsuka's room when he woke up at the crack of dawn on that Saturday morning. He could see his own breath, which caused him to bundle down in the blankets even further. Maybe he needed to see about getting a heated blanket, or better yet…turn on the heat.

He jumped out of bed and ran to the temperature control panel in his room and turned the heat on. Then he ran into his bathroom and started to draw a hot bath. The boy could envelop himself in the warmth of the heated water while the temperature in his room climbed to a much more bearable level. Ritsuka had always liked the water anyway. It made him feel that much freer; almost like he could fly.

Ritsuka slowly de-clothed and slipped into the steaming water and let it engulf him in warmth. The heat hurt his foot, followed by his ankle, as the coolness of his body adjusted to the warmth of the water. He hissed slightly as he completely stepped into the tub and lowered his body into the hot liquid. Within moments his body temperature adjusted and he was completely comfortable.

Once he was covered from his jaw to his toes in water, Ritsuka closed his eyes and let his mind wander. It wandered to the prior day when he'd watched the snow fall from the sky while he sat in class, listening to Yuiko chatter incessantly about who knew what. Violet eyes were not trained on his friend though, because he was watching the beauty of the snowfall. He could make out the tiny, crystalline forms of the flakes as they hit the window and then melted moments later because of the heat. In a word, it was exquisite.

After an hour or so he could see the flakes start to stick. The temperature had dropped. It had continued dropping rapidly enough school had been cancelled. Thus, the cat-eared boy had ended up leaving school early, after sending a text to Soubi, telling the older male that he would not be at the gate when the final bell usually rang.

Moments later he'd received a text saying that the college student was stuck at university with a project due. Thanks to the weather the model had been late in arriving and everyone in the life drawing class was going to end up having to stay longer than expected. This hadn't upset Ritsuka since he'd just seen the man less than a few hours prior. He was sure the art major would end up at his door later that night.

/GG/

As he sat in the bathtub the morning after the sudden downfall of snow, Ritsuka realized Soubi hadn't shown up. What had caused the usually stubborn man to stay away for an entire night? Normally the tween wouldn't let thoughts like this bother him, but for some reason, as the heat caused his brain to start to function normally, he started to worry. Soubi rarely didn't show up, unless there was some sort of an emergency.

Ritsuka sat up slowly and allowed the water to drip down his face and hair into the tub below. Was Soubi hurt somewhere? No, he knew their bond was strong enough that he would be able to hear the other 'calling' him, even if he wanted to deny such a connection existed. Without warning, it was almost as if the elder had managed to envelop his soul within his own. Ritsuka was now stuck and would never be able to break free.

The problem he saw was that the man was always on his mind, whether he wanted him there or not. It wasn't an unwanted intrusion by any means, but it did mean that instead of focusing on other things, such as being a kid, he tended to find his mind wandering to where his older friend was. Sometimes he wondered if he himself wasn't just as enamored with the fighter as said fighter was with him. Soubi was always spouting out his love for the younger male. While Ritsuka didn't exactly come out and say it, he had started to gain affection for the man too. Whether that was love or not was beyond his understanding.

By love he had decided to settle on some sort of platonic love since he figured he was too young to think of the love that Kio referred to when discussing his and Soubi's relationship. In truth, he did love Soubi, but whether it went beyond a deep feeling of adoration wasn't something he could decipher. What he did know was that when the other man wasn't around or disappeared, he felt a little lost. That was how he felt when he tried to stand up in the tub without sloshing water over the edge. With that realization his heart thumped and he could hear nothing but the faint beat against his eardrum as the water cascaded down his naked body and into the pool at his legs.

"You should put some clothes on, Ritsuka, or you'll catch a chill."

The deadpan manner in which this sentence was spelled out just about caused the boy to slip. He was lucky enough to catch himself and spin around and glare at the one who had spoken.

"Are you a pervert or something, Soubi?" he asked in mock annoyance. In truth he was relieved to see the man standing at his door, even if he was naked. It wasn't as if the older person hadn't seen him in the nude before, on more than one occasion.

"No, Ritsuka, I am not a pervert," Soubi said soothingly. "But you are standing in the water, wet, and it is rather cold outside. I don't want you to get cold or get sick."

Soubi stepped over the threshold into the room and handed the younger man a towel.

"Thank you," Ritsuka said with a slight nod as he wrapped the towel around his shoulders.

"Would you like me to leave, Ritsuka?" Soubi asked.

"I trust you not to do anything uncouth," the younger man said as he stepped over the ledge of the bathtub and onto the tile floor.

Soubi nodded and leaned against the door-jam. He knew that the younger didn't mean anything rude by the comment. Both males trusted one another completely, in every aspect of their relationship. In that particular moment, the younger of the two knew full well that the elder wouldn't lay a finger on him.

That didn't stop Soubi from watching as Ritsuka toweled himself off, nor did it stop stop him from grimacing at the sight of new bruises on the boy's neck and a cut that was on the verge of infection on his lower leg. The cut would need some antibiotic ointment in order to keep from festering. How the kid was able to live with someone who didn't seem to understand what she was doing was beyond him.

With sadness dripping from his pores, Soubi retrieved the medical kit he'd brought over the first time he'd dressed the boy's wounds. He'd be damned if the boy's brainwashed mom kept him from caring, no matter what happened. Deep down the woman had to care about her son, but those thoughts were buried so deep it would take a miracle to retrieve them.

"What's that for?" Ritsuka asked as Soubi sat on the bed and started to pull out some gauze.

"Come here, Ritsuka, and I will show you."

Ritsuka complied and sat on the bed, towel falling to the floor. He sat naked and completely exposed to the elements, not to mention the other's gaze. For a moment he wondered if he shouldn't grab some clothes first, but the look in the fighter's eyes made him still and he watched as Soubi reached for his leg.

It never ceased to amaze him how someone would could easily take the life of another human being could, tenderly, care for any sort of blemish on his fragile skin. Ritsuka kept his eyes trained on the other man's hands as they lathered ointment onto the scratch he hadn't even known had been there and then wrapped his leg in bandages.

"Those bruises on your neck must hurt an awful lot if you didn't even feel this cut on your leg," Soubi stated simply.

The tween nodded; they hurt like hell. After he'd returned home, his mother had gone into one of her frequent rages and had tried to strangle him. Ritsuka'd ended up slammed against the wall, where the cut must have happened. Moments after the initial contact with the wall had occurred; his mother had dropped her hands, fell to her knees and cried out in shame over her actions.

After she'd admitted to the Zero boys that Ritsuka had always been as he was, the young man knew his real mom was buried in there somewhere. Yes, it brought about more questions than answers, but it did mean someone inside of that body loved him, just as he was.

"Does it hurt now, Ritsuka?"

Ritsuka was torn from his musings by the fighter's voice. He shook his head slightly and climbed from the bed in search of pajamas. Once dressed he put the towel away and went to the chair to sit down. The sun was slowly climbing in the sky and he could see centimeters of fresh snow covering the landscape.

"What happened to you?" he whispered as he took in the sight of everything blanketed with snow.

"I stayed at school to finish drawing the model and then realized I would have to walk to your house in the snow. It took most of the night to wade through the powder," Soubi said, coming to Ritsuka's side and wrapping an arm around the boy. "Why, did you miss me?"

Ritsuka rolled his eyes. "Yes," he admitted sullenly.

Soubi smiled and pulled the kid closer to him. "Is it that hard to admit you miss my being around?"

The smaller of the two shook his head as he leaned into the other's side. "Not really, but you really can act like a pervert at times."

"I meant what I said, Ritsuka. I won't leave you as long as you won't leave me."

The memory brought back the tears, but the feel of Soubi's arms around him made him realize the words spoken by both were true. He hadn't just been enveloped by Soubi's soul, but Soubi had been enveloped by his as well. They would remain that way, forever, if either had any say about it.


	12. Left Behind

Hello all, and Merry Christmas. Thanks for dropping by to see this latest chapter. I have to admit that with all that is happening in the manga makes me wonder how OOC I am making these two sound. Hopefully it does meet with everyone's approval.

I want to thank anyone and everyone who drops by and reads. An extra special thanks to those who review, favorite, and/or follow the stories. Thank you!

/GG/

Forever at His Side

Left Behind

"Ritsuka-kun!"

The shrill voice of Yuiko caused the boy to look up from the book Soubi had gotten him for his birthday the day prior. His birthday had been relatively happy, especially since he'd had friends to share it with. After he'd left his school-aged friends, Soubi had shown up at his window with a flourish and handed him a book on philosophy he'd wanted to read. Then the older man had kissed him between the cat ears and departed just as quickly.

In truth, it had left him rather perplexed. Normally the blond wanted to stay, but he'd left and not been in contact with Ritsuka since then.

"Ritsuka-kun!"

This time the voice was not just shrill, but annoyed that he hadn't responded.

"Yes, Yuiko?" he asked, calmly.

The boisterous tween blushed and looked at the floor, grounding her foot into the wood. "W-would you like to spend Christmas Day with me?" she finally spit out.

A chorus of hoots and hollers echoed throughout the room as their classmates pestered them on their relationship. Normally Ritsuka would have glared at the other students, but this time he was in a small bit of shock. Sure, he was only twelve, but he knew the implications of spending Christmas Day with a person of the opposite gender. Yuiko was getting braver in her twitterpation of him.

While he had explained that he was only her friend, it didn't seem as if the girl had caught on to the hints. He would need to come out and say it, but he didn't want to do that in front of everyone because it would not only embarrass her, but also hurt her quite a bit.

"Thanks for the offer Yuiko, but my father will be in town and I don't get to see him that often," Ritsuka said, dryly. It wasn't really a lie, his father was in town. Whether he actually saw the man was another story.

Yuiko looked visibly devastated. Ritsuka didn't like to hurt his friend, but this hurt was minor compared to him saying that they were only friends.

"Okay, then we need to see one another when we can."

Ritsuka nodded his head slightly, with a small smile. Then the girl ran out of the room without a by-your-leave. The boy wasn't sure if it was because she wanted to cry or something else. He hated making other people cry, but sometimes it was necessary to be blunt to avoid a bigger heartache in the future.

He looked back at his book, then looked out the window. It was almost time for the school day to be over and Aoyagi was curious if Soubi would be waiting for him. He had been so aloof the last time he'd seen the man, he wondered if something was wrong. Christmas was not a happy time for either of them, but even if Soubi was sad over the holiday, that didn't usually affect how he acted around Ritsuka.

Then again, Soubi was rather distant no matter what was going on. That didn't stop Ritsuka from worrying. After he'd made a decision to try and help his fighter, he had done whatever he could to be one step ahead of the college student.

Right then, he wasn't ahead. In fact, he wasn't even on the same chapter. Maybe…

"Aoyagi Ritsuka!"

This time the shrill voice belonged to Yayoi, who had raced into the room with a look of contempt on his face.

"What did you do to Yuiko?"

Ritsuka eyed the long-haired boy with a somber expression. Obviously Yuiko had cried as she left the class and Yayoi had intercepted her. She'd probably blabbered that he'd turned her down, which ended up with an angry twelve-year old in his face.

"I had to turn her down to spend Christmas with her since my family is in town," he answered calmly.

"You made her c…wait, she asked _you_ to spend Christmas…with her?"

This changed the look on his friend's face from one of fury to one of depression. Great, he'd hurt two different friends, without even intending to.

"I want to spend that day with her," Yayoi said dejectedly.

"You still can," Ritsuka stated, matter-of-factly. "Why don't you ask her?"

"If she was turned down by you, I don't want to be sloppy seconds."

Ritsuka knew that the other boy had a thing for their mutual friend. He never did understand why Yuiko turned Yayoi down, but since he wasn't a young girl he had no way of knowing what it was like to have a crush on a guy; or a girl. He put his hand on Yayoi's shoulder; then went back to reading his book.

After a few moments Yayoi left and was replaced by a couple of Zeros, eyeing him with amusement.

"What?" he asked when neither boy departed.

"Nothing, we just know something you don't know," Youji said with a grin.

"And that would be?"

"Not quite," Natsuo said with a grin, covering his brother's mouth with his hand. "Let's just say that this Christmas will be a good one."

"Of course it's going to be a good one!" Youji beamed. "The world didn't end on his birthday like we all thought, so it's going to be an awesome year."

"You're the only one who bought into that hogwash, no one else thought the world would actually end."

This started an argument.

"That's not true!" Youji pressed. "Lots of people thought the world was going to end. Look at all the end of the world parties that were going on."

"So, you decided to join all of those thick-headed people in celebrating everyone dying?"

Ritsuka wanted to chuckle, but kept a straight face.

"No, I decided to cash in on the idea that everyone was going to die," Youji smirked.

Natsuo snorted, "and that would be, what?"

"I preordered lots of stuff on e-bay that was going for a very cheap price because their owners thought it was the end of the world!"

The other two boys looked at Youji for a moment before Natsuo spoke up again. "That's actually very smart, what did you order?"

"I loaded up on mousetraps, bug repellant, and old Nintendo games, among other things." Youji looked pleased with himself.

Ritsuka rolled his eyes.

"You've been had, Youji," Natsuo cackled. "What do we need any of that for?"

This caused the blue-haired boy to stall. He appeared to think for a moment before he frowned. "I'm sure I can figure out what to use them for," he argued.

Ritsuka decided to let the two of them work it out and go in search of Soubi, who was usually waiting for him at the gate. Eventually the twin zeros would work it out. For his part, he thought Natsuo was right, Youji had been taken, just like everyone else who had thought the world was going to end.

He saw Yayoi trying desperately to keep up with Yuiko as the tall girl walked down the hall, away from the classroom. Their teacher was also in the process of walking; only she looked to be walking toward the teacher's lounge. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry and weren't paying attention to the little details that were everywhere for everyone to see.

The boy had figured out that he needed to slow down to see the details in his life. Ever since certain things had come to light, he stalled his movements enough to see if there were any clues to his missing memory. What he saw didn't end up helping him much with his memory, but he had learned quite a bit about his friends and he'd learned quite a bit more about Soubi.

Speaking of the older male, he wasn't waiting at the gate like normal. A wave of sadness rolled over him as he realized that there must have been a detail he'd missed if Soubi wasn't acting like usual. Maybe Christmas was affecting him more than he let on. Anyone would feel sad over a holiday if their parents had died. Obviously Soubi was lonely, or something like that. There was no way of telling unless the closed-lipped older male actually opened up a little more.

He hadn't really thought of it much since he was a kid with very little money, but maybe he should have gotten Soubi a present for Christmas. It wasn't a normal practice in Japan; Christmas was usually a holiday to spend with a 'special someone'. Would receiving a gift give the wrong idea? Probably not, at least not while he was only twelve. If he were older then it may have given the elder some sordid ideas.

Ritsuka started to have an internal battle. Should he go and get a gift for Soubi or should he try to find the elusive adult? Soubi never got angry, but if Ritsuka started to nose his way into something the elder didn't want to share, that might make the man a little cross.

In truth, if his pestering Soubi pissed the college student off, it would make Ritsuka happy. Anything that means getting the fighter to show some emotion was good. The more emotions Soubi showed, the faster he'd heal.

So, loaded with a plan, Ritsuka made his way to Soubi's apartment to find out where the man had disappeared to in both his physical and mental existence.

/GG/

Ritsuka made it to the apartment with no issues. He stepped up the stairs and briefly wondered if Kio was there. Whenever Soubi was sad the man with too many piercings usually ended up at the apartment too.

Either way, Ritsuka didn't care. He'd deal with whatever it was he was presented with. For some reason the door to the abode seemed a little haunted. This made the boy feel rather on edge as he used his key to open the door and step inside the studio room.

The air in the apartment was thick with sadness. Ritsuka felt as if he had jumped into the ocean and couldn't breathe. There was more going on with Soubi than the older male was willing to admit if the very oxygen needed for life had been turned malignant.

Ritsuka walked toward Soubi's bed. There was a lump, covered in a quilt, that he assumed was the missing man. Occasionally there was a soft movement or rustle but nothing else. Ritsuka was worried and he wasn't afraid to show it.

"Soubi!" he shouted, unintentionally.

The lump on the bed sat up quickly and he saw his fighter staring at him with hollow eyes. He looked lost and confused for a fraction of a second, then the blank expression appeared that Soubi had cultivated for years. A smile formed.

Soubi was quite surprised to see his little sacrifice standing in front of him until he looked at his alarm clock and saw that he had missed meeting the boy at school.

"I'm sorry, Ritsuka, I must have fallen asleep and not realized it."

"Don't play with me, I know there's something wrong," Ritsuka answered with a scowl.

"There is nothing the matter with me. I may be a little tired, actually."

Ritsuka wasn't buying the response. Yes, Soubi looked tired, but it wasn't because of normal reasons. That was for certain. When it came to the fighter, he rarely showed any sort of emotion. In that moment he may have been trying to keep his mask on, but all that was doing was making the pain he was trying to cover all that much more apparent.

"What are you angry about?" This was a shot in the dark; Ritsuka didn't realize that the pain was actually anger.

Soubi was surprised at the accusation until he realized that the boy had hit the nail on the head. There was no way he was going to admit that he was angry though, not when he'd been trying to avoid the emotion for years.

"I'm not angry," he deadpanned.

"Don't play with me Soubi!" Ritsuka shouted. "I am not stupid. You should know by now and I can order you to tell me!" He wasn't really angry at Soubi, but he knew that sometimes to get someone to fight back they needed to be shoved off the metaphorical cliff.

Soubi cocked his head as he ascertained the situation. Ritsuka was rather easy to read for the most part, but he actually looked a little annoyed. Having the kid angry with him, for keeps, was a fear he'd gained over the course of their relationship. Soubi never liked it when anyone was mad at him, but it was different with Ritsuka; with the boy it cut deeper because he loved him more than he'd loved anyone else in the world.

"I'm not mad, Ritsuka. There is honestly nothing wrong with me a little sleep won't cure," he said in a soothing voice.

Ritsuka could see a little bit of a spark in the elder's eyes when he spoke, so he knew he was getting somewhere. Maybe he needed to step up his game, if it meant finding out what the underlying issue was.

"I want you to get mad, Soubi," Ritsuka almost cried. "I want to see you act like a human."

Soubi turned away.

"Don't look away!"

Soubi hissed through his teeth, but refused to turn and look at his tiny sacrifice, begging for attention. Ritsuka had all but burned a hole in his heart and if he wasn't careful he'd end up crying. No one wanted to see an adult crying so close to Christmas.

Ritsuka wasn't having any of it and started to shove the older male like a younger brother might shove an older brother when he wanted the older to play.

"Come on Soubi, get angry at me for disturbing you! Get mad at anything!" Tears started to leak from his eyes and fall down his cheeks. This he hadn't expected. He wasn't acting anymore.

"I'm not going to get angry at you, Ritsuka. You haven't done anything for me to get angry over." Soubi was trying to be calm. He knew the boy was crying and also knew he was trying to find out why he'd been so aloof as of late.

"Then get angry over whatever it is that has been making you so much more distant. I miss you!"

The admission made Soubi take a deep breath and hold it. That same sentence caused Ritsuka to blush as he realized that it was true. Whenever Soubi was gone or distant, Ritsuka felt lost and missed him.

Soubi decided to sit up and face the child before he caused him to cry as he'd done before. That type of crying was unacceptable when it had to do with his Ritsuka. He'd speak to the boy, just to avoid making him cry again.

"I am angry, Ritsuka, but it has nothing to do with you, so I don't want you to worry." It was his last option before coming clean.

"Then why are you angry and why don't you show it? When you hold onto anger it builds up until it explodes. You should know this, you're older than me!" Ritsuka choked.

Soubi placed his hand on Ritsuka's head, right between the cat ears, and ruffled the kid's hair. No matter how angry he was over the stupidity of some people, Ritsuka always calmed his nerves. Unfortunately, the boy was also very good at not letting things go, and it would take him coming clean before Ritsuka would stop badgering him.

"I'm angry at my parents."

Hearing such a thing took Ritsuka by surprise. Soubi's parents had died when he was a kid, so how could he be mad at them? It wasn't their faults they'd died.

Ritsuka couldn't even fathom a response to hearing that, so he just sat on the bed and looked at Soubi with curiosity. The elder didn't say anything, which spoke louder than any words that could have been uttered from his mouth. To Ritsuka it was like Soubi was screaming at his parents; but why?

Then it hit him. Of course it was logical for someone to be angry at their parents for dying. Yes, it was unintentional abandonment, but he had still been left behind. After being left he'd been put through all sorts of crap. No one deserved that. For fourteen years his fighter had probably been angry at his parents and not even admitted it to anyone.

Ritsuka wondered if Soubi was ashamed of his anger. He'd been trained not to show emotions. This meant he probably felt as if he was not following his programming. What Ritsuka needed to do was continue deprogramming the man until he was able to share his emotions freely.

"It's okay to be angry at your parents, Soubi," he said sternly. "You were left behind. I'd be angry too."

The raven-haired boy waited to see if Soubi would do or say anything. Nothing happened. He tried something else.

"I am angry at my brother for dying on me, or I was until I realized he didn't actually die."

Violet eyes remained as blank as ever.

Ritsuka felt like it was a lost cause. Maybe there were a few things he couldn't help with in just a short time. His anger with his parents might end up needing a lot longer to come to the surface. Sure, it would never be erased, but he would need to be patient if Soubi were to finally get over his anger. At least the older man was allowing it to mess with his sleep cycle a little and not deny it was there.

Instead he changed the focus. Soon it was Christmas. He didn't have a gift, but he recalled what Yuiko had asked him earlier in the day. One was supposed to spend Christmas with the person they loved. Ritsuka loved Soubi.

"Soubi," he asked, shyly. "Will you spend Christmas Day with me?"

Almost immediately the air in the apartment cleared up. Ritsuka looked up and saw a look of shock on Soubi's face. Obviously he hadn't expected to be asked such a request.

A slight smile appeared on the man's face as he realized it was an actual request. Sure, it wasn't like he'd been asked by a girl or a lover, but there was no one else in the world he'd rather spend that **couple's **holiday with.

"Yes, Ritsuka, I will spend Christmas Day with you."

Without another word he pulled the boy into a crushing hug and kissed him on the lips, chastely. Ritsuka didn't struggle and just let his head rest against Soubi's chest. He would never admit how much he liked his fighter's heart beat. And, somehow, the zero twins were right. It was going to be a good Christmas.


	13. There Was Only Them

It has been so long (Christmas of 2012!) since I added another chapter to this story. That's what happens when I start uni again. I'm not sure who has Apple products, but I know my mother and sister have iPads, iPhones, iPods, etc. They're like the Mother-Daughter tag-team advertisement for Apple. Because of this, my grandfather (who is close to 100) wanted me to get one as well. So I finally relented and will be getting an iPad Mini, probably Monday next week.

This little story here was developed based on the scene where Soubi gives Ritsuka a cell phone to keep in contact with him. I would assume, since it's 10 years later, that they'd upgrade to a newer type of model. Thus, this idea came about thanks to Loveless and my grandfather.

/GG/

Forever At His Side

There Was Only Them

Sleeping was, and always would be, one of Ritsuka's favorite ways of passing time. Generally at night though; after all, he was a growing boy. They tended to need their sleep, as the Zero brothers often commented on whenever Ritsuka walked into class looking like he hadn't slept in a month or five. Generally the boy liked sleep because he would dream of happy times, whether they be his fictitious memories from when Seimei were alive, or his current memories with friends. Of course the fictitious memories were kept under lock and key because he didn't want anyone to know he used to imagine what life with his brother must have been like.

As it was, Ritsuka was in the process of dreaming about himself on a Ferris Wheel at Tokyo Disney. Soubi'd decided that it was time he and his friends had an opportunity to go to the most magical place on Earth. The cat-eared boy didn't know if he'd ever gone before, but he had been on a Ferris Wheel, so it wasn't hard to imagine what one would feel like.

In the dream he was in the car by himself when it stopped. He could actually hear himself commenting on how cliché that was. Yuiko and Yayoi were in the car directly below him and he could hear the girl shriek that if it had to stop she should have been with Ritsuka. The image of Yayoi's sad face filled his mind and it almost made him chuckle.

Now, normally at this juncture in a dream, the white knight would magically appear. In the recesses of his mind he knew that Soubi would be the white knight, but he never came. Instead a feeling of loneliness overtook his senses and caused him to wake with a jolt. The emotions didn't immediately dissipate and without even thinking he reached over and grabbed his cell phone. His finger stalled on the 'one' key. If he pressed it then it would ring Soubi, but he couldn't bring himself to call the older man. It was two in the morning, by the phone's clock, and it was only a dream.

Still, he didn't fall back to sleep instantaneously. His mind kept jolting him awake with the sensations of being left behind again. No one would be able to handle that, not after what they'd been through. Sometimes, after the older man had gone AWAL, all Ritsuka needed was to see him and it eased his thoughts.

Needing to see the man kind of annoyed him in a way, since it made him seem rather dependent whereas he'd always prided himself on his self-reliance. Before meeting Soubi he'd needed no one, but now, not only did he need his college-aged friend, but his other friends as well. Again, the old Ritsuka was lost, and a new Ritsuka was in his place. But that wasn't an accident, everyone was like that. New ideas, new occurrences; they always changed an individual into something different. Just like the times changed and were never the same as before.

_Fwoosh!_

Ritsuka looked over at his door and his eyes went wide as he saw Soubi standing on in the jam. It never ceased to amaze him how strong their bond had become if he didn't even need to use a mobile to let Soubi know he actually wanted to see him. A blush crept across his face and he ducked his head at the implication his mind was making.

"Ritsuka?"

The blond waltzed into the room and waited for acknowledgment. He was, after all, still a servant of the boy sitting on the bed. Though, he knew Ritsuka would react rather harshly if he knew Soubi still thought like that most of the time.

"The bond?" the boy asked, swiveling around and opening up a place for Soubi to sit next to him on the bed.

"I felt it, Ritsuka, yes."

Ritsuka sighed and shook his head slightly. "You don't need to come running every time I have a feeling. If you do that then you'll never leave."

Soubi put his hand on Ritsuka's head and turned his face so he could look into his master's eyes. Before speaking he leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on Ritsuka's surprised lips.

"I would have no problem with that, Ritsuka."

One tweenage boy blushed even further as he shooed the elder's hand away from his crown. No one should be able to admit such embarrassing things with a straight face. On the other hand, if Soubi stopped talking like he did, then Ritsuka would start to worry. And, in truth, there were days in which he wouldn't have minded the older man being around all the time either.

The college student was smarter than what he came across at times though, because he knew that while Ritsuka did love having him around, there were times in which it would have been impossible, lest they were joined at the hip. That was why he'd shown up at two in the morning with a gift for Ritsuka instead of waiting until a more civilized hour.

Soubi pulled out a box, wrapped in a brown bag, and handed it to Ritsuka. The boy looked at it curiously before gazing at the elder with a curious expression in his eyes.

"This is for…?"

"Open it, Ritsuka, and you'll find out."

The boy pulled the wrapping off and just stared at the box in his hands. It was one thing to give him an inexpensive cellular, but this was much more than that.

"How can you afford this, Soubi?" he asked, wanting to give the gift back.

"Nothing is too expensive for you, Ritsuka," Soubi said as he pulled out an exact replica of the same device. "Now," he said, turning on said device, "we can use Apple Facetime and video chat with one another, even when we're separated."

Ritsuka looked at the iPad Mini in Soubi's hands, then glanced at the one he had in a box on his lap. So many people in school had Apple products, so he'd looked into the devices. After finding out the price he knew he'd never be able to afford one, so he ignored the wave of classmates who were chatting about iPhones, iPods, iPads, and any other type of iProduct on the market.

Soubi knew Ritsuka was on the precipice of declining the offer. It was true, the devices were expensive. He'd had to get into his savings from his parents in order to afford the two of them, but what he'd said was true; nothing was too expensive to help Ritsuka feel more at ease.

So, Soubi pulled out his backup plan. He showed Ritsuka his contacts. When the tween saw that not only were the Zero boys connected (somehow they'd talked Nagisa into getting them both iPhones because of her previous treatment of them and the Zero girls), but Yuiko and Yayoi were on Soubi's list as well. He looked at Soubi with confusion and realized he was sleepier than he'd thought.

"Ritsuka," Soubi said softly. "I think you should sleep and we can talk more about this in the morning."

He nodded slightly as he turned back onto his bed. It wouldn't have taken long for him to pass out again if he hadn't felt the other slide under the covers with him. Ritsuka wasn't about to turn away from the warm embrace, so he turned into it and let the beating of Soubi's heart lull him to sleep.

/GG/

The sun ended up waking Ritsuka before it woke Soubi. He blinked as he tried to recall the hour between two and three AM while he listened to the music of Soubi's breathing and heartbeat. Slowly he removed himself from the elder's arms and rolled from the bed. He landed on his knees and stretched before standing and walking to the bathroom. That sleep had been some of the best he'd had in quite a while.

Thoughts of iPads jumped into his head as he looked on his desk and saw the unopened box, atop which rested Soubi's device. No way could he accept such a present from someone. His mother never would have gotten him one, which meant he shouldn't take advantage of Soubi's kindness for him.

Deep inside he really wanted to take that new toy and use it to contact his friends and use it for homework. Ritsuka never cared about being up-to-date on all the fashions and ideas, but there were times when he wanted to be just like everyone else. Having an iPad Mini would allow him such a luxury.

Ritsuka allowed himself to look at Soubi's identical iPad for a few moments. It was easy to understand, even without reading the manual. And if what his fighter said was true, he could contact him or his friends at any time.

And…he got an early morning dose of how Facetime worked.

The iPad rang and Ritsuka accidentally answered the call. A crisp picture of Kio appeared on the screen. He could make out the other man's dumfounded expression in high definition.

"Uh…" Kio said, dumbly. "Why do you have Sou-chan's iPad?"

It sounded like the other college student was in the same room as he and Soubi.

"He's asleep. Soubi came over last night and we fell asleep."

Kio's eyes bugged for a moment before he spoke. "You mean to tell me, you and he slept…together…in the same bed?"

Ritsuka didn't even hear the double meaning and just nodded his head.

"Ritsuka, wake up the pedophile so I can yell at him…before I turn him into the cops," Kio demanded.

He then realized his error. "Kio, we…"

Soubi reached over Ritsuka's head and pulled the device from the smaller boy's hands. "Kio, you are corrupting my master with your perverted thoughts."

"I'm not the twenty year old sleeping in the same bed as a twelve year old…in his parent's house no less," the picture of Kio snapped. "You were supposed to wake me up at five this morning so I could get to the studio before everyone else did."

Soubi smiled slightly. "You have an iPhone, use it as an alarm clock and don't rely on me for such trivial matters."

"And I suppose it wasn't a trivial matter that stole you away in the middle of the night to accost a kid?" Kio asked, clearly jealous.

Ritsuka felt an arm around his waist as he was pulled forward with a grunt and firmly held against Soubi's body.

"Where Ritsuka is involved, nothing is trivial." Soubi kissed the top of Ritsuka's left cat ear, which caused it to dance.

Kio wanted to argue, but he knew that when it came to Ritsuka, Soubi had a one-tracked mind. It wasn't worth it to argue some sense into his friend. If Soubi had his way, he and Ritsuka would leave the world together, just the two of them.

"Fine, I'll see you in class, provided you want to show up."

The picture disappeared and Ritsuka watched as Soubi put the device down on the pillow.

"I can't accept it, Soubi. I want to, but it's too much."

Soubi wasn't done with his cards yet though. He'd thought of as many outcomes as he could to counteract anything that Ritsuka might come up with as an excuse.

"Then I want you to take it as a backlog of birthday presents. That's eleven year's worth. If you think about it that way then the cost isn't too much," he reasoned, pulling the boy to sit next to him on the bed again.

Ritsuka giggled, slightly. He'd read the same type of line in a book once. In the end he knew he'd end up keeping the thing, just because he knew it might come in handy one day. His school had just set up wifi and he knew the university also had a similar connection. Still, it wasn't something he felt comfortable taking and it nagged him.

The resourceful college student had a few more ideas, but he figured to jump to the last one. It was sure to get a rise from Ritsuka as well as ensure the boy kept his new gift.

"I want to be able to see you when _I _want to see you, Ritsuka."

Ritsuka could feel his heart skip a beat. Soubi wasn't doing it for him any more than he was doing it for himself. He could hear the words over in his head with the embellishment on the word "I".

He stood up and glared at Soubi for a moment, scrutinizing the elder's facial features. Soubi was known to lie, but lately his eyes always betrayed him.

"_You _want me to have this so _you _can see me?" he asked, full of skepticism.

Bingo. And while it wasn't a lie, it wasn't the entire reason he'd bought the new toys. The real reason was so they could contact each other. There was no Soubi or Ritsuka anymore, there was only them.

"Yes, Ritsuka. _I _want to be able to see you when I am stuck at school," he answered with conviction.

The boy's eyes lit up and he felt himself move forward and hug Soubi in a manner he hadn't done since piercing the man's ears. If it was for Soubi, Ritsuka would do anything, including accept an overpriced piece of machinery.

"Okay, Soubi," he whispered in the man's ear, sending a shiver down both of their spines. "I accept your present, as long as we can take a picture of the two of us now, so I can always remember today as a day you wanted something for yourself."

/GG/

_Two Weeks Later_

Ritsuka sat in class during lunch, Yuiko droning on in the background. He was trying to read a new philosophy book on his iPad when it rang and his book was replaced by the Facetime screen. He answered and was immediately connected with Soubi's face. Said man's face was streaked in paint and he could see a canvas in the background with a painting of two butterflies flying in the sky, connected by an almost invisible, golden thread.

"Soubi?" he asked, conveying his meaning in just the one word (Soubi was rubbing off on him).

"I wanted to see you, Ritsuka," the man deadpanned.

"That's a pretty painting," Ritsuka commented, holding back a smile as Yuiko appeared behind him and started babbling to the two of them about her latest celebrity crush.

"Thank you, Ritsuka," Soubi said with a grin.

Both wouldn't admit it with the girl in the background, but the iPads were a good decision.


End file.
